IC 


8977 



Bureau of Mines Information Circular/1984 



Chromium Availability— Market 
Economy Countries 

A Minerals Availability Program Appraisal 



By P. R. Thomas and E. H. Boyle, Jr. 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



Information Circular 8977 

Chromium Availability— Market 
Economy Countries 

A Minerals Availability Program Appraisal 



By P. R. Thomas and E. H. Boyle, Jr. 



>" 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
William P. Clark, Secretary 

BUREAU OF MINES 
Robert C. Norton, Director 






As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Deportment of the Interior 
has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural 
resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water re- 
sources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environmental and 
cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for 
the enjoyment of life through outdow recreation. The Department assesses 
our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is 
in the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major re- 
sponsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who 
live in Island Territories under U.S. administration. 




Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: 



Thomas, Paul R 

Chromium availability— market economy countries. 

(Information circular ; 8977) 

Bibliography: 

Supt. of Docs. no.:. I 28.27:8977. 

1. Chromium ores. 2. Chromium industry. I. Boyle, Edward H, 
II. Title. III. Series: Information circular (United States. Bureau 
of Mines) ; 8977. 



TN295.U4 [TN490.C4] 622s [553.4'64] 83-600309 



For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 
Washington, D.C. 20402 



PREFACE 



The purpose of the Bureau of Mines Minerals Availability Program is to 
assess the worldwide availability of nonfuel minerals. The program identifies, 
collects, compiles, and evaluates information on active, developed, and explored 
mines and deposits, and mineral processing plants worldwide. Objectives are to 
classify domestic and foreign resources, to identify by cost evaluation resources 
that are reserves, and to prepare analyses of mineral availabilities. 

This report is part of a continuing series of Minerals Availability Program 
reports to analyze the availability of minerals from domestic and foreign sources 
and the factors that affect availability. Questions about the program should be 
addressed to: Chief, Division of Minerals Availability, Bureau of Mines, 2401 E 
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20W1. 



CONTENTS 



Page 

Preface iii 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 2 

Commodity overview 3 

Methodology of analysis 5 

The U.S. perspective 6 

Summary 8 

Chromium resources 8 

Comparative chromite availability 10 

Comparative high-carbon ferrochromium 

availability 13 

Grade-A, high-carbon ferrochromium 13 

Grade-B, high-carbon ferrochromium 15 

Grade-C, high-carbon ferrochromium 16 

The Republic of South Africa 17 

Geology and resources 17 

Mining and beneficiation 22 

Chromite availability 23 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability 25 

Summary 27 

Zimbabwe 28 

Geology and resources 28 

Great Dyke seam deposits 28 

Selukwe podif orm deposits 32 

Belingwe podiform deposits 35 

Eluvial chromite deposits 35 

Mining 36 

Great Dyke seam deposit mining — 

resue mining 36 

Podiform deposits (sublevel stoping) 38 

Eluvial soil deposit 

(level and hillside stripping) 39 

Beneficiation 39 

Great Dyke seam deposits 39 

Podiform deposits 40 

Eluvial deposits 41 

Chromite availability 41 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability 43 

Constraints to development 46 

Transportation and porting facilities 46 

Power supplies 46 

The Minerals Marketing Corp, of Zimbabwe . 47 

Summary 48 

Turkey 49 

Geology and resources 49 

Mining and beneficiation 51 

Chromite availability 52 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability 53 

Summary 54 



Page 

The Philippines 54 

Geology and resources 54 

Mining and beneficiation 57 

Surface mining 58 

Underground mining 59 

General operational problems 60 

Beneficiation 60 

Chromite availability 61 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability .... 62 

Summary 63 

India 64 

Geology and resources 64 

Mining and beneficiation 65 

Chromite availability 66 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability ... 68 

Summary 69 

Brazil 69 

Geology and resources 69 

Mining and beneficiation 71 

Pedrinhas operation 71 

Limoeira operation 71 

Underground mining potential 72 

Chromite availability 72 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability ... 72 

Summary 73 

Finland 74 

Geology and resources 74 

Mining and beneficiation 75 

Chromite availability 75 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability 75 

Summary 76 

New Caledonia 76 

Geology and resources 76 

Mining and beneficiation 77 

Chromite availability 77 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability 77 

Summary 78 

Greece 78 

Geology and resources 78 

Mining and beneficiation 79 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability 80 

Summary 81 

Madagascar 81 

Geology and resources 81 

Mining and beneficiation 83 

Chromite availability 84 

High-carbon ferrochromium availability ... 84 

Summary 85 

References 85 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



1. Relationship between Cr:Fe ratio of chromite ores and chromium contained within a ferroalloy product 4 

2. Classification of mineral resources 5 

3. Chromite import market shares by country 7 

4. Ferrochromium import market shares by country 8 

5. Relationship of cost-evaluated tonnage to an estimate of the total demonstrated and identified resource 

levels within the 10 nations under study 10 



CONTENTS — Continued 

ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued Page 

6. Percentage distribution, by country, of total cost-evaluated in situ tonnage and total chromite product 

availability 11 

7. Cost and potential availability estimates of grade-A,high-C ferrochromium 13 

8. Percentage contribution, by country, to total high-C ferrochromium availability estimates by product 

grades A, B, and C 14 

9. Cost and potential availability estimates of grade B, high-C ferrochromium 15 

10. Cost and potential availability estimates of grade C high-C ferrochromium 16 

11. Location of South African chromite mining areas, smelting facilities, railway network, and ports of 

exportation 18 

12. Summary of South African cost-evaluated in situ tonnage; percent of total potential, seam distribution, 

chromite composition, and chromite product availability 21 

13. Mining, milling, and transportation costs, FOB Durban, and availability of chromite from selected 

South African operations 24 

14. Cost and potential availability estimates of high-C ferrochromium from selected South African chro- 

mite operations 27 

15. Location of chromite mining areas, smelting facilities, and transportation network, Zimbabwe 29 

16. Composition of cost-evaluated Great Dyke seam material and its relationship to total potential in situ 

tonnage 32 

17. Location of chromite ore bodies and mining operations, Selukwe Podiform District in Zimbabwe 33 

18. Distribution of demonstrated resource level, by type of occurrence, in Zimbabwe 36 

19. Percentage distribution between mining, milling, and transportation cost estimates (FOB Beira, Mo- 

zambique) for podiform, seam-type, and eluival chromite deposits, respectively, in Zimbabwe .... 43 

20. Mining, milling, and transportation cost estimates (FOB Beira, Mozambique), and potential avail- 

ability of chromite from selected operations in Zimbabwe 44 

21. Cost and potential availability estimates of high-C ferrochromium from selected chromite operations 

in Zimbabwe 45 

22. The effect of a 15-pct MMC sales commission upon the breakeven cost level estimates of high-C ferro- 

chromium production in Zimbabwe 48 

23. Location of basic-ultrabasic rock distribution, chromite mines, ferrochromium smelters, and ports of 

exportation in Turkey 49 

24. Ophiolite belts, low- and high-grade metallurgical- and refractory-grade chromite deposits-operations 

in the Philippines 55 

25. Location of chromite deposits-operations and the proposed ferrochromium smelter in the Philippines . 56 

26. Estimated mining, milling, and transportation costs per ton of chromite product, and availability of 

chromite from selected operations in the Philippines 61 

27. Composition of cost-evaluated in situ demonstrated resource and percentage of total chromite potential 

attributable to low- and high-grade metallurgical resources in the Philippines 63 

28. Distribution of potential high-carbon ferrochromium availability estimates, by ferrochromium product 

grade, from the Philippines 64 

29. Percentage distribution between mining, milling, and transportation cost estimates (FOB port) for 

high- and low-grade metallurgical resources, respectively, in the Philippines 64 

30. Location of selected chromite mines and mining districts, current and proposed ferrochromium smel- 

ters, transportation network, and ports of exportation in India 67 

31. Location of selected chromite mining operations; transportation network, ferrochromium smelter, 

and attendant port facility, Brazil 70 

32. Location of Kemi chromite mine, transportation network, smelting and port facilities, Finland 74 

33. Location of Tiebaghi chromite mine, New Caledonia 77 

34. Location of ophiolite complexes, Xerolivado chromite mine, and ferrochromium smelter, Greece 78 

35. Location of chromite districts, transportation network, and ports of exportation in Madagascar 82 



TABLES 

1. U.S. ferrochromium market data, high- and low-C ferrochromium, 1970-82 7 

2. Name, status, and resource type of the 80 operations comprising the cost-evaluated demonstrated re- 

source level, as of January 1981 9 

3. Summary of cost-evaluated in situ chromium-bearing resources 10 

4. Other chromite resources, market economy countries 11 



CONTENTS — Continued 

TABLES — Continued Page 

5. Total chromite product availability and weighted-average mining, beneficiation, and transportation 

costs, by country 11 

6. Chromite transportation cost estimates from mines to ports within various countries 12 

7. Projected utilization of chromite products at highest expected production level 13 

8. High-C ferrochromium ; cost ranges per pound of contained chromium, availability estimates, and 

percentage distribution, by country 14 

9. General characteristics of upper, middle, and lower group chromite seams in South Africa 18 

10. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected South African operations as of 1980 19 

11. Criteria for determination of demonstrated chromite resource estimates for selected South African 

operations 20 

12. Most common routes, transport modes, approximate distances, and costs from the four chromite-produc- 

ing areas in South Africa 24 

13. Current South African ferrochromium smelters and estimated 1980 capacity for the production of 

high- and low-C ferrochromium and ferrosilicon chromium 25 

14. Weighted-average cost estimates per pound of contained chromium for the production of high-C ferro- 

chromium from South African chromite resources, the United States versus South Africa 26 

15. Breakeven cost level estimates of ferrochromium production from South African-based chromite re- 

sources 27 

16. Great Dyke chromite seam characteristics 30 

17. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected Great Dyke, Zimbabwe, seam deposits as of 1980 31 

18. Ore bodies, ore type, and analysis of crude ore composition, Selukwe District operations-properties, 

Zimbabwe 34 

19. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected Selukwe district podiform deposits of Zimbabwe, 

as of 1980 34 

20. Summary: in situ demonstrated and identified resources of chromite in Zimbabwe, by type of deposit 36 

21. Capital and operating cost estimates, generic mining models of Great Dyke seam mines 38 

22. Comparison of mining cost differences due to changes in seam thickness 38 

23. Estimated beneficiation methods, recoveries, and operating costs, by category of Great Dyke seam .... 40 

24. Estimated annual capacities of crude ore and chromite products from selected Zimbabwe chromite oper- 

ations 42 

25. Weighted-average mining, beneficiation, and transportation cost estimates, per ton of product, for 

selected chromite operations in Zimbabwe 43 

26. Ferrochromium smelters, capacities, and products, Zimbabwe 44 

27. Average total cost ranges per pound of contained chromium and corresponding ferrochromium avail- 

ability, by resource type, for Zimbabwe 45 

28. Weighted-average breakeven cost estimates per pound of contained chromium in Zimbabwe, with and 

without a 15-pct MMC sales commission 47 

29. Comparison of weighted-average production costs per pound of contained chromium at the breakeven 

level in South Africa versus Zimbabwe with the imposition of a 15-pct sales commission 48 

30. Chromite reserves of Turkey, 1972 Turkish government estimates 50 

31. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected Turkish operations as of 1980 50 

32. Distribution of chromite deposits or occurrences in the Philippines 54 

33. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected Philippine deposits and operations, as of 1980 . 57 

34. Surface mining data for selected Philippine chromite operations 57 

35. Percentage breakdown of total estimated surface mining capital investment required for developing 

Philippine chromite deposits , 59 

36. Underground mining data for selected Philippine chromite operations 59 

37. Technical data on beneficiation of Philippine chromite 60 

38. Estimated mining, milling, and transportation costs per ton of chromite product and total chromite 

product availability, by resource type, for the Philippines 61 

39. Per pound of contained chromium cost and potential availability estimates, by ferrochromium product 

grade, for the Philippines 62 

40. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected Indian deposits, operations, and districts as of 

1980 65 

41. Estimated mining data as evaluated in this study, India 66 

42. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected Brazilian deposits and operations, as of 1980 ... 70 

43. Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected deposits and districts in Madagascar, as of 1980 . 82 



UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT 



"C 


degree Celsius 


m/yr 


meter per year 


cm 


centimeter 


mm 


millimeter 


d/yr 


day per year 


pet 


percent 


DWT 


deadweight ton 


ppm 


part per million 


op 


degree Fahrenheit 


sq km 


square kilometer 


ha 


hectare 


103 t 


thousand metric tons 


km 


kilometer 


t 


metric ton 


kW 


kilowatt 


t/cu m 


metric ton per cubic n 


kW-h 


kilowatt hour 


tpd 


metric ton per day 


MVA 


megavolt ampere 


tpy 


metric ton per year 


m 


meter 


yr 


year 



CHROMIUM AVAILABILITY- MARKET ECONOMY COUNTRIES 
A MINERALS AVAILABILITY PROGRAM APPRAISAL 

By P. R. Thomas' and E. H. Boyle, Jr.^ 



ABSTRACT 

The Bureau of Mines determined the costs associated with the production of 
chromium, in the form of chromite and high-carbon ferrochomium, from the dem- 
onstated resources of 10 market economy nations. The analyses evaluated the 
relative geologic and economic position of these chromite resources contained with- 
in 80 producing or potential mining operations. 

This report presents cost evaluations of a demonstrated resource of chromite, 
contained within the nations studied, of appoximately 1.2 billion metric tons (t). 
Of this total, 70 pet is contained within the southern African nations of Zimbab- 
we and the Republic of South Africa. The majority of current chromium mining 
and smelting capacity is contained within these two countries as well. India and 
the Philippines have recently demonstrated greatly increased chromite resources 
and hold the most promise for expanding both chomite and ferrochromium pro- 
duction outside southern Africa. Their demonstrated resources represent approxi- 
mately 7 and 16 pet, respectively, of the cost evaluated total tonnage. 

Chromite resources, on an identified or hypothetical basis worldwide, are highly 
concentrated within Zimbabwe and South Africa, with these two nations contain- 
ing in excess of 95 pet of the total. 

Given the present market structure, a majority of chromium contained within 
the demonstrated chromite resources of the nations studied is economically re- 
coverable ; but from a long-term resource and economic perspective, South Africa 
should inceasingly dominate the markets for both chromite and high-carbon fer- 
rochromium. In addition, it is anticipated that an increasing percentage of chro- 
mium traded on the world market in the future will be in the form of high-carbon 
ferrochromium as opposed to chromite, as this additional processing stage con- 
tinues to relocate from the industrial nations that account for a majority of 
chromium consumption to those nations that mine chromite. 



1 Economist. 
' Geologist. 
Minerals AvailabUlty Field Office, Bureau of Mines, Denver, CO. 



INTRODUCTION 

This study addresses the international availability of the element chromium 
(Cr) contained in chromite products and in the refined form of its most signifi- 
cant primary metallurgical product, high-carbon ferrochromium. The study eval- 
uates the geologic, engineering, and economic determinants of 80 significant de- 
posits, operating properties, or districts, within 10 market economy countries, that 
contain chromite of a quality^ sufficient for the manufacture of at least 52 pet 
(contained chromium) ferrochromium or chromite suflScient for use in the re- 
fractory industry.* The 10 countries included in the engineering and economic 
cost analyses are Brazil, Finland, Greece, India, Madagascar, New Caledonia, the 
Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. 

The major engineering and geologic factors affecting the availability of chrom- 
ium in each country are addressed, including quality and quantity of chromite 
reserves and resources, mining and beneficiation methods and costs, ferrochrom- 
ium production methods and costs, and modes and costs of transportation. 

The major economic and policy issues surrounding this industry are also ad- 
dressed. These issues are centered on the relative quantity and quality of resources, 
comparative costs of production and transportation, capacity and location of down- 
stream processing stages, developmental constraints upon the industry, and gov- 
ernmental policies that impact upon it. The following section presents an overview 
of the mineral and commodities in question in order to define and sharpen the 
perspective of the analysis. 

» Chromite with at least a 1.3 Cr :Fe ratio and less than 52 pet contained AUO3. 
* Chromite with at least 20 pet contained AljOj and 60 pet combined AljOj 4I Cr.Oj. 



COMMODITY OVERVIEW 



Chromium is a commodity of critical importance that 
imparts unique qualities to the material to which it is 
added. It is essential in the production of stainless 
steel and high-temperature-resistant superalloys hav- 
ing numerous and essential industrial and defense- 
related applications. There is currently no element that 
can act as a total substitute for chromium in the 
manufacture of stainless steel. Certain elements are 
partial substitutes for chromium in the production of 
some steels, with certain acceptable quality reductions. 
These partial substitutes, however, such as cobalt, 
molybdenum, nickel, niobium, and vanadium, are all 
priced 3 to 10 times as high as chromium. In addition, 
although the known-world resources of chromium 
exceed those of its partial substitutes, these resources 
are geographically concentrated in a very limited 
number of countries. 

The only known commercial source of chromium 
(Cr) is in ores in which the mineral chromite occurs 
with other gangue minerals, usually silicates and 
ferruginous oxide minerals. The ore containing the 
chromite and gangue minerals is commonly referred 
to as "chromitite." The mineral chromite is a member 
of the spinel group and has a chemical composition of 
FeCr204. In its purest natural form, in situ chromite 
contains 68 CrjO,, (chromic oxide), although seldom 
does it contain more than 55 pet. The grade of an in 
situ chromite resource and the products resulting from 
its extraction (ore and concentrates) are most often 
quantified in terms of this Cr^Os content, with most 
products ranging from 38 to 55 pet CrjOg to be accept- 
able for marketing. However, once these products are 
further smelted to produce ferroalloy products, the 
grading system is based on the chromium content of 
the ferroalloy. Thus, where the availability of ferro- 
chromium alloy production is addressed, a standard of 
68 pet contained chromium (Cr) in Cr^Os was utilized 
to determine the content of chromium in chromite 
products. 

Chromium in the form of ore and concentrate 
(chromite) is classified as either high-chromium 
chromite or high-iron chromite, depending upon the 
percentage of contained chromium relative to con- 
tained iron (i.e., Cr:Fe ratio), or as high-alumina 
chromite depending upon the percentage of contained 
alumina (AlgOg). The standard applied throughout 
this report is to define high-chromium chromite (here- 
after referred to as high-Cr) as that which has a 
Cr:Fe of ^2:1, high-iron (hereafter referred to as 
high-Fe) chromite as having a Cr:Fe ratio of <2:1, 
and high-alumina chromite as containing >20 pet 
Al,03. 

Chromite products are employed in many uses, the 
markets for which were traditionally defined as metal- 
lurgical, chemical, and refractory. By far the most 
significant market for chromite is the metallurgical 
industry, which consumes both high-Cr and high-Fe 
chromite. The products produced by this industry are 
high-carbon and low-carbon (hereafter referred as to 
high-C and low-C) ferrochromium of varying types 
and specifications (i.e., amount of contained chromium, 



carbon, etc.), ferrosilicon chromium, and chromium 
metal, all of which are primarily consumed as inter- 
mediate products in the manufacture of stainless and 
superalloy steels. The chemical market, utilizing high- 
Fe chromite, produces sodium dichromate (a chemical 
base product), from which a wide range of other 
products and applications are derived. High-alumina 
chromite is primarily consumed in the manufacture 
of refractory bricks for use in the steel industry. 

Both high-Cr and high-Fe chromite are acceptable 
for the production of ferrochromium. The most signifi- 
cant difference is that high-Cr chromite produces a 
ferroalloy product that contains more chromium than 
does high-Ffi chromite. This basic relationship is 
shown in figure 1; the curve represents a "general- 
ized" functional relationship between the Cr:Fe ratio 
of chromite, the classification of chromite, and the 
amount of contained chromium present in a refined 
ferrochromium product. This generalized relationship 
is used in this study to define three ferrochromium 
product grades. Thus, all grade-C (also called 
"charge") ferrochromium is defined as containing 
approximately 50 to 55 pet Cr and is produced from 
high-Fe chromite with a Cr:Fe ratio of <1.8. Grade-B 
ferrochromium, defined as containing 56 to 64 pet Cr, 
is generally produced from chromite with Cr:Fe ratios 
ranging from 1.8 to 2.5. Grade-A ferrochromium, de- 
fined as containing in excess of 64 pet Cr, is produced 
from high-Cr chromite with Cr:Fe ratios >2.5. 

During the course of the last decade the composition 
of ferrochromium production has changed dramatic- 
ally. In the stainless steel industry, the widespread 
adoption of the argon-oxygen-decarburization (AOD) 
process for the manufacture of stainless steel has re- 
sulted in a very significant shift away from the pro- 
duction of low-C, high-Cr ferrochromium in favor of 
high-C, low-Cr ferrochromium since the AOD steel- 
making process allows for the addition of ferro- 
chromium with a lower chromium and higher carbon 
content. 

This has blurred the traditional distinction between 
chemical- and metallurgical-grade chromite that was 
based in part upon whether the Cr:Fe ratio was ^2 or 
<2. Furthermore, because the production of low-C 
ferrochromium requires further processing to reduce 
the carbon content, the high-C product is always less 
costly. Of particular importance to this study, however, 
is the fact that in either case the high-C form is 
always the first stage product from chromite ore or 
concentrate, except in limited cases where chromite 
ore is smelted directly with ferrosilicon chromium for 
the production of low-C ferrochromium. 

During the last 15 yr, the shift to high-C ferro- 
chromium as a percentage of total ferrochromium 
production and consumption has been large, rapid, and 
increasing through time. In the United States, for 
example, of all chromium ferroalloys consumed in the 
manufacture of stainless steel in 1968, 47 pet were 
low-C and 28 pet high-C ; by 1980 low-C ferrochromium 
had decreased to 6 pet of this total, while high-C had 
increased to a predominant 80 pet {1, p. 276; 2, p. 192). 



66 



-»- 64 

o. 

5 62 



60 



< 
O 

tr 

f^ 58 



56 
54 
52 
50 - 
48 - 
46 - 



44 



Grade C 



Grade B 



(50-55pctCr) (56-64 pet Cr) 

High- iron chromite -• — | — »- High -chromium chromite 
J I I I I I I 



^. ^»_ Grade A _, 
(over 64 pet Cr) 



1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 

CHROMIUM-TO-IRON RATIO IN CHROMITE PRODUCTS 
Figure 1. — Relationship between Cr:Fe ratio of chromite ores and chromium contained within a ferroalloy product. 



This technolo^cal change has resulted in a massive 
locational restructuring of the international ferro- 
chromium industry. Within the context of mineral 
availability, this can best be expressed by an examina- 
tion of the installed ferrochromium smelting capacities 
of the major producing countries. In 1972, it was 
reported that the Republic of South Africa had an 
installed capacity of 290,000 tpy (3, p. 10) . By 1982, 
this had increased dramatically to 800,000 tpy (4, p. 
94) . By contrast, the United States was estimated to 
have had an installed capacity in 1972 of 390,000 tpy 
(5, p. 10) , which has subsequently declined to 145,000 
tpy by 1982 a,p.97). 

Other major ferrochromium-producing areas are 
Japan and western Europe, both of which import 
almost all chromite raw material requirements. Japan's 
capacity in 1980 was around 700,000 tpy and is 
primarily dependent upon South Africa for its chro- 
mite supply. Other import sources are the Philippines 
and India. Western Europe's capacity (with the ex- 
ception of Sweden and Finland), like that of the 
United States, has been declining. Great Britain and 
France basically have no ferrochromium smelting 



capacity; Spain, Norway, and Italy are only small 
producers. West Germany now maintains most of the 
capacity within the European Economic Community 
(EEC). Western Europe also primarily obtains its 
chromite imports from South Africa, with the U.S.S.R., 
Turkey, Finland, and recently Albania as secondary 
sources. 

The cycles of the world chromium industry are in- 
extricably tied to the level of world economic activity 
in general and the world steel industry in particular. 
Chromium is an intermediate-product industry and as 
such its growth and contraction are dependent upon 
the demand for those products that employ it as a raw 
material input. Although the percentages fluctuate 
somewhat, the metallurgical industry remains by far 
the largest and most important consumer of chromite, 
and high-C ferrochromium has become its most im- 
portant product. The purpose of this study, within this 
context, is to ascertain the relative economics of the 
chromium-commodity-availability base, within the 
countries analyzed, in the form of chromite products 
and high-C ferrochromium products. 



METHODOLOGY OF ANALYSIS 



The analyses performed for the purposes of this 
study involved geologic, engineering, and economic 
evaluations. 

The geologic aspects particular to each current or 
proposed chromite operation included in the study were 
determined in order to develop estimates of the demon- 
strated and identified resource levels (see fig. 2) and 
in situ grades. In situ resource tonnages are reported 
in metric tons,^ in situ grades in percent CrgO,. The 
geologic discussion in each section of the report in- 
cludes a description of the physical criteria and as- 
sumptions made in the determination of the resource 
estimates. A tabular summarization of the demon- 
strated and identified resource tonnages, in situ chro- 
mite grades, and the amount of contained chromium 
at the demonstrated level, on a property by property 
basis, is presented for each country. All resource esti- 
mates are as of January 1980. 

It is recognized that the chromium industry is very 
diverse. It is not uncommon, for example, for a single 
mining operation to produce a mix of high-Cr, high- 
Fe, or refractory-grade chromite products of differing 
CrjO,, grades and product sizes. In addition, this 
product mix can change according to changing market 
circumstances under which the firm is operating. For 
this reason, certain simplifying assumptions were 
necessary in order to address the world chromium 
industry in comparative terms with a long-run pers- 
pective. In order to ascertain the relative cost and 
availability of chromite by mining operations and 
countries, the resources were classified according to 
predominant types of chromite present, either high-Fe, 



^In this report, "ton" refers to the metric ton (2,204.8 lb), 
except where otherwise Indicated. 



high-Cr, or high-alumina. The high-alumina (refract- 
ory-grade) chromite was not further evaluated for the 
production of high-C ferrochromium because of tech- 
nological processing problems in smelting such prod- 
ucts. High-C ferrochromium was chosen as a ferro- 
alloy product for comparative purposes because of its 
aforementioned predominance in the metallurgical 
industry. 

The demonstrated resource level was employed for 
costing purposes in order to determine the relative 
economic position of each operation and each country 
studied. For cost analysis, all cost and resource esti- 
mates were updated to January 1981. In order to 
ascertain the cost and availability of chromium in the 
form of ore and concentrate (chromite availability), 
mining and beneficiation methods and costs were de- 
veloped according to actual or proposed development 
plans and associated production capacities, including 
all announced capacity expansions. The estimates of 
mining and beneficiation operating costs are composed 
of three components: 

• direct and indirect labor costs 

• equipment operation costs 

• material and supplies cost 

The operating cost estimates do not include : 

• allowances for capital recovery (depreciation) 

• taxes 

• royalties 

• interest charges or 

• reinvestments in plant and equipment 

These costs are calculated and entered into the analyses 
separately. 

The engineering evaluation outlines these major 
mining and beneficiation production methods and 
operating parameters, as well as the percentage con- 



IDENTIFieO RESOURCES 




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Oocurr«flC«« 



InchidM nonconvtntionol ond lo«-grod« mottrlolt 
Figure 2. — ClaMlflcatloft of mineral resourcM. 



tribution of each of the three components to operating 
cost. In addition, mining and milling capital costs, and 
any exploitation problems which are significant in 
affecting the availability of chromite from the demon- 
strated resource tonnages that were determined, are 
also addressed. 

In order to rank the operations and countries by 
resource level and degree of economic competitiveness, 
all mining and beneficiation operating costs and chro- 
mite transportation costs were recalculated for each 
operation on a per-ton-of -mill-product basis and aggre- 
gated as weighted averages, by country, along with 
each country's total potential availability of chromite 
in tons. 

Also calculated is a measure of the amount of crude 
ore that must be mined in order to produce 1 ton of 
salable chromite product. This measure is defined as 
the "concentration ratio" and addresses the quality of 
the host country's chromite resources from a mining- 
efiiciency point of view. 

To determine the cost and quantity of high-C ferro- 
chromium potentially available from these demon- 
strated chromite resources, by ferrochromium product 
grade (i.e., grade A, B, or C), the analyses were 
expanded to include: 

• ferrochromium smelting methods 

• smelter operating and capital costs 

• chromite and ferrochromium transportation and 
handling costs 

• smelting capacities and 

• all announced expansions to existing capacity or 
construction of new facilities 

In addition, interest on debt and all existing foreign 
country tax structures that relate to capital recovery 
and taxation of income were also incorporated into the 
analyses in order to perform a complete economic 
evaluation. 

The economic evaluation of each operation was per- 
formed using discounted cash flow rate of return 
(DCFROR) techniques. This evaluation determines 
the long-run average total cost of producing high-C 
ferrochromium from each operation over its producing 
life. The average total cost is equal to the constant- 
dollar long-run price at which the commodity must be 
sold, so that the present value of revenues equals the 



present value of all costs including a prespecified rate 
of return. 

For this study, rates of return of and 15 pet were 
specified when determining the average total cost of 
production over the life« of a property. The first rate 
(0 pet) is used to determine the breakeven point, 
where revenues are sufficient to cover total investment 
and production costs over the operation's life but pro- 
vide no positive rate of return. This rate would 
reflect the investment parameters of a project given 
only market share or developmental concerns, where 
potential multiplier effects (i.e., social benefits) would 
offset company-operation-specific profitability. For 
privately owned enterprises or those not strictly de- 
velopmental in nature, a more reasonable economic 
decisionmaking parameter is that represented by the 
15-pct DCFROR. This rate was considered the mini- 
mum sufficient to maintain adequate long-term profit- 
ability and attract new capital to the industry. Within 
these two economic horizons lies the cost structure of 
the operations and countries in question. 

The availability of the commodity (chromite or 
ferrochromium) from an operation is presented in 
this study as a function of the average total costs 
associated with it. Availability curves are constructed 
as aggregations of all evaluated operations ordered 
from those having the lowest average total costs to 
those having the highest. The potential availability of 
the commodity can be seen by comparing the expected 
long-run constant dollar market price to the average 
total cost values shown on the availability curves. 

This report is presented in country sections to allow 
for a complete discussion of the costs, commodity 
availabilities, and future production and export poten- 
tial for each of the nations under study. An executive 
summary has been prepared which summarizes each 
country section, presents cross-country comparative 
discussions of chromite and ferrochromium product 
costs and availabilities, and addresses the relative 
resource and economic position of each nation. The 
relative position of the United States and its pers- 
pective from the point of view of a major importer of 
both chromite and ferrochromium, and the mineral 
policy issues this presents, are addressed in the follow- 
ing section. 



THE U.S. PERSPECTIVE 



In general, U.S. import reliance for the element 
chromium is 91 pet, with secondary recovery account- 
ing for the remaining 9 pet. The United States has pro- 
duced chromite in the past, most notably during the 
Korean War period, but is currently dependent entirely 
upon imports for its chromite consumption require- 
ments. A recent Bureau of Mines report (5) evaluated 
the potential of domestic chromium-bearing resources 
and determined that if these resources were fully 
developed (an unlikely event) the production potential 
would be small and of short duration. In addition, 
market prices for chromite concentrates and ferro- 
chromium products would have to increase substan- 



tially in order for any domestic-resource-based produc- 
tion to become economic. 

The major suppliers of chromite to the United 
States (fig. 3) are South Africa (predominantly high- 
Fe chromite) , Turkey and the Soviet Union (high-Cr 
chromite), and the Philippines (refractory-grade 
chromite). During the period 1977-80, South Africa 



«The project life of encli property evaluated was determined by 
assuming that the property would be operated at 100 pet of 
deslRned mine capacity for producing operations, or for non- 
producing operations, ns determined according to the engineering 
development plnn that was derived. The mine life covers only the 
demonstrated resource level. 




1977-80, averoge 
Figure 3. — Chromlte import market 
shares by country. 

alone accounted for 44 pet of all U.S. chromite imports 
(6, p. 32). The Philippines has accounted for roughly 
16 pet of U.S. imports, almost entirely refractory grade 
(6, p. 32) . The Soviet Union has averaged around 15 
pet of total U.S. chromite imports during the 1977-80 
period, declining through time as a major supplier of 
chromite relative to South Africa (6, p. 32). This 
trend is expected to continue. The other communist 
bloc country with a significant share of U.S. chromite 
imports is Albania, which accounted for 10 pet of 
U.S. chromite imports in 1979 (2, p. 195). 

Reliance upon imported chromite has been the case 
in the United States for decades, the major concern 
being diversification of supply sources. Of much great- 
er importance and concern, however, is the ever-in- 
creasing shift to reliance upon ferrochromium imports 
as opposed to domestic production of ferrochromium 
from imported chromite (7, pp. 173-4). Table 1 pre- 
sents data on ferrochromium, reported in terms of con- 
tained chromium, for domestic shipments, imports, ex- 
ports, inventory adjustments, reported and apparent 
consumption, and a measure of import reliance. As the 
data indicate, there has been a noticeable upward trend 
in reliance upon chromium imported in the form of 
ferrochromium. Prior to 1975, ferrochromium imports 
from all countries averaged 28 pet of apparent chro- 
mium consumption. Since 1975, import reliance has 



doubled, averaging 61 pet of apparent consumption, 
with 1981 posting an import reliance figure of 76 pet. 

This trend is also expected to continue. As a result, 
domestic ferrochromium capacity has continued to 
close and utilization of existing capacity has remained 
at low levels since 1980. It is estimated that capacity 
utilization in 1982 could be as low as 30 pet. A num- 
ber of measures have recently been taken by the 
ferroalloys industry to counteract this trend, including 
successful petitions filed with the International Trade 
Commission (ITC) (covering the period from Novem- 
ber 15, 1978, to November 15, 1982) imposing a mini- 
mum floor price of $0.38/lb contained Cr on high-C 
ferrochromium imports and a $0.04/lb penalty duty 
on imports entering the United States below the floor 
price. This penalty duty has expired. 

One of the most important issues as regards tariff 
levels (duties, minimum prices, etc.) is the determina- 
tion of production cost differentials between ferro- 
chromium produced in the United States from im- 
ported South African chromite, and the cost of 
ferrochromium produced in South Africa and exported 
to the United States. A recent ITC study (8, p. A-53) 
determined a $0.034/contained-Cr cost advantage, as 
of 1981, for high-C ferrochromium produced in South 
Africa and delivered to the United States as opposed 
to the same chromite processed to the same product in 
the United States. The importance of this issue is 
easily illustrated by the fact that for the years 1977- 
81, South African high-C ferrochromium imports have 
accounted for 73 pet of the U.S. total. This trend of 
reliance upon South Africa has been steadily increas- 
ing. As shown in figure 4, South Africa's market share 
has effectively doubled during the 1970's. Zimbabwe's 
import market share has fluctuated noticeably (from 
a high of 40 pet in 1973 to essentially zero in 1978 and 
1979), due to civil war and trade embargos that dis- 
rupted normal trading patterns. Yugoslavia and Brazil 
have maintained relatively constant market shares, 
while Japan and Finland no longer account for notice- 
able percentages. 

Imposing import quotas is another possible action 
to help maintain an adequate level of ferrochromium 
capacity, but this could require, among other things, 
that the ferroalloy industry be deemed essential to the 



Table 1. — U.S. ferrochromium market data,^ high- and low-C ferrochromium, 1970-42 

(Thousand metric tons of contained chromium) 

Yoar Domestic imonrtc cvr,^^^ Inventory Consumption 

Shipments ^^^'^ ^"P^-ts adjustmel ,pp,,„, „,p,,,, 

1970 187 24 17 - 1 195 165 

1971 155 49 5 +10 189 153 

1972 148 82 8 +5 217 187 

1973 220 95 9 - 9 315 246 

1974 199 93 4 - 8 296 283 

1975 101 180 8 +38 235 158 

1976 119 136 8 +5 242 194 

1977 122 122 7 - 8 245 218 

1978 112 165 11 - 9 275 248 

1979 137 123 9 - 9 260 273 

1980 112 158 19 - 4 255 213 

1981 81 224 8 +4 293 216 

1982 45 77 3 -14 134 133 

' All data subject to conversion and rounding. 

^ Imports as a percentage of apparent consumption. 



Import reliance,'^ 
pet 



9 pet 
Yugoslavia 




8 pet 
^^-^ Japan 

>V--5pet 
/ ^Finland 


11 pet 
Zimbabwe 


W 


■^pct 
Brazil 


37 pet 
V South Africa 


^■"-^^ L_6 pet 

^-y other 



2 pet Other 




1972-76, average 1977- 81 , average 

Figure 4. — Ferrochromium Import market shares by country. 



national security. Also, the idea has been advanced 
that the chromite stockpile be converted to ferro- 
chromium by the domestic ferroalloy industry as a 
way to increase capacity utilization. However, current 
stockpile inventories of high-and low-C ferrochromium 
are in excess of the stated objectives, and there is the 
added concern for stockpile obsolescence if the chro- 
mite is converted to ferrochromium. 

The major mineral policy issues and questions for 



the United States, then, are (1) to ascertain the cost 
and availability of chromite from current and potential 
international sources, (2) to determine the cost and 
availability of high-C ferrochromium from current 
and potential sources, (3) to attempt to diversify both 
sources of chromite and ferrochromium imports, and 
(4) to maintain an adequate level of domestic ferro- 
chromium capacity. This study specifically addresses 
these issues and questions. 



SUMMARY 



CHROMIUM 
RESOURCES 

Chromium contained within chromite ore occurs 
primarily in podiform, stratiform, and eluvial deposits. 
Podiform deposits occur as irregular pods or lenses 
and have relatively similar sizes in all three dimen- 
sions; i.e., length, thickness, and extension to depth. 
Stratiform or seam-type deposits occur as layers. 
They are commonly traceable over many kilometers 
(i.e., large strike lengths) and have large extensions to 
depth (along the dip of the seam) but very small 
thicknesses of the seam relative to the length and 
depth extension. Eluvial, alluvial, lateritic, and "soil" 
deposits are all loose definitions of various types of 
chromium-rich soils derived from the weathering of 
podiform or seam-type deposits with reconcentration 
either in situ (eluvial) or transported and reworked 
(alluvial). Podiform and stratiform are primary 
deposits, whereas eluvial deposits are secondary. 

Table 2 lists the names, producing status, and pre- 
dominant type of resource occurrence of all 80 opera- 
tions comprising the cost-evaluated demonstrated re- 
source that was estimated for the availability study. 
An in situ demonstrated resource of approximately 1.2 
billion t was estimated to be contained within these 80 
operations in the 10 nations under study. The relation- 
ship of this 1.2 billion t of cost-evaluated resource 



to estimates of the total demonstrated and identified 
resource levels for these 10 countries is illustrated in 
figure 5. This 1.2 billion t, although a small percentage 
(17 pet) of the total demonstrated resource available 
in these nations, still represents over 60 yr of total 
world consumption of chromite for all end-use applica- 
tions. As indicated in figure 5, effectively 100 pet of 
the remaining non cost-evaluated tonnage is contained 
within Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. 
Figure 6 and supporting data in table 3 provide a 
percentage breakdown, by country, of the cost- 
evaluated tonnage. 

Two nations, Zimbabwe and South Africa, contain 
approximately 70 pet of this total. The estimates for 
these two nations are but a small subset of their poten- 
tial, with total in situ estimates for South Africa 
ranging from 3.096 billion t (9, p. 55) to as high as 
16 billion t {10, p. 120) ; for Zimbabwe, estimates run 
as high as 10 billion t.'' For the purpose of cost evalua- 
tion, these subsets were calculated according to specific 
property information and geologic criteria as detailed 
in the text. However, just these small subsets them- 
selves represent over 50 yr of potential total world 
consumption. If the analysis were expanded to include 
a complete geologic estimate of world chromium re- 



^ Confidential source. 



Table 2. — Name, status, and resource type of the 80 operations comprising the cost-evaluated demonstrated resource level, as of 






January 198r 






Name 


Type of occurrence 


Status^ 


Name 


Type of occurrence 


Status^ 


South Africa: 






Zimbabwe — Continued: 






Zwartkop 


. Stratifomi 


P/S 


Valley Chrome 


. . . Podiform 


P/S 


Consolidated Chrome 


do 


P/S 


Magazine Hill 


do 


P/S 


Ruighoel< 


do 


P/S 


Ironsides 


do 


P/S 


Ntuane 


do 


P/S 


Iron Ton 


do 


P/S 


Waterkloof 


do 


P/S 


Belingwe District 


do 


P/S 


Millsell 


do 


P/S 


Impinge (eluvial) 


. . . Eluvial 


P/S 


Kroondal 


do 


P/S 


Turkey: 






Rustenburg (Chrome Chemicals) . 


do 


P/S 


Kefdag 


. . . Podiform 


P/S 


Henry Gould 


do 


P/S 


Soridag 


. . . Stratiform 


P/S 


Moolnool 


do 


P/S 


Kavak 


. . . Podiform 


P/S 


Ucar Chrome 


do 


P/S 


Kopdag West-North Zone 


do 


P/S 


Winterveld (TCL)-North Section . . 


do 


P/S 


Uckopru 


do 


P/S 


Groothoek 


do 


P/S 


Kandak 


do 


P/S 


Dilokong 


do 


P/S 


Philippines: 






Montrose (Hendriksplaats) 


do 


P/S 


Masdang 


do 


E 




do 


P/S 


Narra 


do 


P/S 


Lavino (Grootkx)om) 

Grasvally 


do 


P/S 




do 


P/S 


do 


P/S 


Candelaria 


do 


E 


Marico (Nietverdiend) 


do 


P/S 


Lagonoy 


do 


P/S 


Zeerust 


do 


P/S 


Llorente 


. . . Eluvial-alluvial 


E 


Zimbabwe: 






Bicobian 


. . . Lateritic-eluvial 


E 


Gienapp-lvo 


do 


P/S 


Batang-Batang 


...Alluvial 


E 




do 


P/S 


Bacungan 


. . . PouiTorm"Gtuvi&l 


P/S 


Sutton-Rodcamp 


do 


P/S 


Irahuan 


do 


E 


Vanad 


do 


P/S 


Coto-Masinloc 


Podiform 


P/S 


Caesar 


do 


P/S 


Kinmalgin 


.......do 


P/S 


Crown-Divide North 


do 


P/S 


India: 






Glenapp-Hay-Noro 


do 


P/S 


Byrapur 


do 


P/S 


Umvukwes 


do 


P/S 


Jambur-Tagadur 


...Stratiform 


E 


Ore Recovery Tribute 


do 


P/S 


Cuttack District: 






Greenvale 


do 


P/S 


Low grade 


. . . Stratiform-podiform . . . 


E 


Maryland 


do 


P/S 


High grade 


do 


P/S 


McGowan 


do 


P/S 


Keonjhar District: 






Divide 


do 


P/S 


Low grade 


do 


E 


Rutala 


do 


P/S 


High grade 


do 


P/S 


UmSW6SW6 


do 


P/S 


Brazil: 






Umsweswe-Bee 


do 


P/S 


Pedrinhas (Campo Formoso) . . . 


. . . Stratiform 


P/S 


Windsor-York-York West 


do 


P/S 


Limoeira (Campo Formoso) . . . . 


do 


P/S 


Bat Claims 


do 


P/S 


Finland: Kami 


do 


P/S 




do 


P/S 






P/S 


Netherburn 


do 


P/S 


Greece: Xerolivado 


do 


P/S 


York 


do 


P/S 


Madagascar: 








. Podiform 


P/S 


Andriamena 


do 


P/S 


Selukwe Peak 


do 


P/S 


Ranomena 


do 


P/S 



' The term "operation" refers to either an individual mine or group of mines, or an area, section, or district, depending upon the criteria of each individual nation under 
study. 
^ The status is listed as either P/S or E. If listed as P/S, the operation is either a current or past producer. If listed as E, no production had occurred as of January 1 981 . 



sources on an identified basis (demonstrated plus 
inferred resources) these two southern African na- 
tions would represent over 95 pet of the total, which 
could be as high as 27 billion t or more. 

Six nations constitute the "others" category, which 
comprises only 6 pet of the total cost-evaluated re- 
source estimate. The remaining two nations, India and 
the Philippines, have recently increased their level of 
resources and represent 7 and 16 pet of the total, 
respectively. India's demonstrated resource level has 
been increased primarily by lowering the cutoflf grade 
of the Cuttack and Keonjhar districts, used for defin- 
ing the resource estimate, to 30 pet CrjOg. The resource 
estimate for the Philippines includes recently investi- 
gated large tonnages of very low grade eluvial de- 
posits. These deposits contain smaller amounts of 
recoverable Cr^Oj relative to their in situ tonnage 
estimates than do podiform-type deposits in countries, 
such as Turkey and New Caledonia, which have smaller 



in situ tonnage estimates but much higher CrgOg 
grades. 

The world chromium industry developed historically 
around the exploitation of these high-grade, podiform- 
type resources of limited tonnage. As they are de- 
pleted, the trend in production toward dominance by 
very large tonnage, seam-type resources will continue. 
These seam-type resources are located almost entirely 
in Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. 

In addition to the operations and nations extensively 
evaluated in this report, there exist other deposits 
and/or countries that may produce chromite in the 
future. These deposits, listed in table 4, were not 
evaluated at the time of this study because insufficient 
information existed concerning the geologic, engineer- 
ing, and economic determinants to allow for a complete 
cost evaluation. Future research concerning the avail- 
ability of chromium in the market economy countries 
should also concentrate on these deposits. 



10 




17% of totol demonstrated resource 
of 10 nations studied 
4% of world identified level 



Figure 5. — Relationship of cost-evaluated tonnage to an estimate of the total demon- 
strated and Identified resource levels within the 10 nations under study. 



Table 3. — Summary of cost-evaluated In situ chromium-bearing 
resources 

r,„ „,„,„^ Percent Weighted- Contained 

C°""^^ resource St °'»°'^' ^^«^^9«g^^d«- ^^A- 

resource, 1 0- 1 ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^3 ^ 

South Africa 637,876 53^ 4^0 370,227 

Zinnbabwe: ^^^^~^^:^~——-——^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:^:^:::=:=^ 

Seam type 175,000 NAp 49.0 NAp 

Podiformtype 16,900 NAp 46.5 NAp 

Eluvial soil 4,700 NAp 20.0 NAp 

Total or average.. 196,000 16.5 49.0 94,329 

Turkey M 1,630 1.0 38.0 4,500 

Philippines: 

Low grade 178,495 NAp 2.0 NAp 

High grade M2.301 NAp 30.3 NAp 

Refractory ^ 16,960 NAp 26.0 NAp 

Total or average . . 207,756 17.5 5J 11,716 

India 81,230 7^0 3Z0 26.000 

Brazil ''17,000 1.4 21.0 2,900 

Finland 29,200 2.4 27.0 7,884 

New Caledonia 2,300 .2 44.0 1 ,01 2 

Greece 2,200 .2 18.0 396 

Madagascar 10,250 .8 31.6 3.270 

Grand total " 1 ,196.000 100.0 NAp 522,234 

NAp Not applicable. 

' Does not include the many small deposits and operations, representing 20 to 
30 pet of Turkey's overall total production of chromite products, which are too 
small or sporadic to evaluate for costs. 

^Does not include 21 deposits containing about 1.8 million t of in situ 
resources; 18 are very small (average 40.000 t reserve); 3 are fairly large 
(average 360.000 1). Small size or lack of data precludes estimation of costs. 

^Does not include 12 deposits containing about 1.1 million t of in situ 
resource; 10 are very small (average 50.000 t); 2 are fairly large (average 
300,000 1). 

" Represents resource in the Campo Formoso District only. 



COMPARATIVE CHROMITE AVAILABILITY 

This section presents a brief cross-country com- 
parative summary of chromite production costs and 
availability. Table 5 and figure 6 provide an overvie'w 
of relevant chromite product cost and availability data 



for the 10 countries studied in the cost evaluations. 
As illustrated in figure 6, there are approximately 
632 million t of chromite products potentially recover- 
able from the 1.2 billion t of chromium-bearing ma- 
terial contained within the 80 operations, deposits, 
and districts of these 10 nations. Over 85 pet of 
the total recoverable chromite is contained within just 
two nations, Zimbabwe and South Africa, with South 
Africa alone accounting for 65 pet of total chromite 
availability. 

All other country product tonnages are quite small 
by comparison. This concentration of chromite re- 
sources in South Africa, in and of itself, should ensure 
that the world chromite industry will be increasingly 
dominated by the cost and production levels of this 
country. 

The great majority (82 pet) of the total cost- 
evaluated chromite tonnage is potentially recoverable 
at a combined long-run mining, beneficiation, and 
transportation cost level, FOB the port of exportation, 
of $100/t. Of this overall total, 80 pet is contained 
within the South African operations. At a long-run 
cost level of $65/t of product, about 37 pet of the total 
tonnage is potentially recoverable, and of this total, 
80 pet is also contained within the South African 
operations. Therefore, it can be expected that the South 
African mines will increasingly establish the long-run 
average cost level for the world chromite industry as a 
whole. This infers that in periods of weak demand and 
low or falling prices for chromite, the South African 
producers will dominate a very large part of the mark- 
et since they represent by far the greatest availability 
of low cost products. In addition, in periods of high 
demand and rising prices, the South African industry, 
with its ability to expand mining capacity relatively 
quickly with scale economies, will provide a moderat- 
ing effect upon prices, thereby ensuring long run 
dominance of the market. 



11 



17.5 pet 7N. 
\Philippines / \ 

\ / 16.5 pet \ 
V. \ / Zimbabwe \ 


1.9 pet 
Philippines-v 

/ 20.5 pet 
/ Zimbabwe 


\ 16.8 pet/ 
\ llndia/ / 


/2,7 pet Finland 
C^l.2 pet Turkey 
/TN^I.9pctAII others 


53 pet / 
South Africa / 


\ 65 pet 
\ South Africa 


/ 



Totolwl.2 X lO^t, Total=632xlO*t, 

in situ postmill basis 

Figure 6. — Percentage distribution, by country, of total cott-evaiuated In situ ton- 
nage and total chromlte product availability. 

Table 4. — Other chromlte resources, market economy countries^ 



Country 



Deposit 



Type of resource 



Estimated in situ Grade, pet 
tonnage, lO^t Orfi^ 



Problems and status 



Australia Coobina High-grade, 

type deposits. 

Canada Winnepeg District do 

Greenland Fiskenaesset Low-grade, seam-type 

deposits. 

None announced Residual deposits and 

laterites. 



Papua New Guinea . . Ramu River 



South Africa East and West 

Bushveld Complex. 



18,600 
2,500 



100,000 



630,000 



28-49 1.5 Remote location, refractory-grade 

material. 
8.7 1 .0-1 .48 Very low Cr:Fe ratios. 

20-26 1 .0-1 .2 Remote location, very low Cr:Fe ratio. 

NA NA Exploration being conducted for low- 

grade eiuvial chromlte deposits. Also 
chromlte in Nl-Co laterites. 
5-10 NA Remote location, low-grade, some of 

economics will depend on Nl-Co laterite 
technology and economics. - 

5.5 1 .2-1 .3 Extractable at certain operations on the 

Complex, but economic and mart<eting 
aspects questionable. Low Cr:Fe ratio 
of concentrate product. More promising 
for platinum values. 



Itot evaluated in this study for product availability or costs. Major questions of geology, economics, technology of extraction, or mari<etablllty raise doubts about 
production for the near term. In addition to these nondeveloped resources, other countries such as Cyprus, Iran, Japan, Pakistan, and Sudan do produce very small 
amounts of chromlte (140,000 1 combined production for 1980) and, of this total, 82,000 1 represents Iranian production. 



Table 5. — Total chromlte product availability and weighted-average mining, beneficlatlon, and transportation costs, by country 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 



Country 



potential, 
lO^t 



Pet of total 
estimate 



Weighted-average 

shipping grade, 

pet Cr^Oj 



Concentration 

ratio, crude 

ore to chromlte 

product 



Weighted average cost per metric ton concentrate 



Mining Beneficlatlon Transportation' 



Total cost^ 
(FOB port) 



South Africa 

Zimbabwe; 

Seam type 

Podifonn type 

Total or average. 



Rnland. . . . 
Philippines: 



Low grade 

Total or average. 

Turitey 

Brazil 



412.000 


65.0 


43.0 


1.2 


$35.00 


$4.00 


$26.00 


$65.00 


116,660 
12,682 


18.5 
2.0 


NAp 
NAp 


1.1 
1.2 


84.50 
29.50 


2.25 
6.00 


27.50 
28.00 


114.25 
63.50 


129,342 
43,000 
17,112 


20.5 
6.8 
2.7 


50.0 
46.0 
31.0 


1.1 
1.5 
1.6 


79.00 
42.50 
9.50 


2.50 
5.00 
6.5 


27.50 
17.00 
9.00 


109.00 
64.50 
25.00 


6,200 
5,912 


1.0 
.9 


NAp 
NAp 


1.8 
30.0 


22.50 
33.50 


5.50 
55.50 


7.50 
12,00 


35.50 
101.00 


12,112 


1.9 


47.0 


15.3 


28.00 


29.50 


10.00 


67.50 



t^ew Caledonia. 
Greece 



7,600 


1.2 


46.0 


1.3 


35.00 


5.00 


4,618 


.7 


44.0 


3.5 


65.50 


11.50 


3,877 


.6 


49.0 


2.5 


31.00 


16.00 


1,700 


.2 


51.0 


1.3 


42.50 


7.00 


500 


.09 


51.0 


3.5 


57.50 


18.00 



Grand total 631,946 



NAp 



NAp 



NAp 



NAp 



7.00 
35.00 



NAp 



108.50 
66.50 



NAp 



NAp Not applicable. 

' Includes handling charges. 

* Total mining plus milling plus transportation cost per metric ton of concentrate. Does not Include taxes, depreciation, interest, or allowance for profit. 



12 



At the 1979 world production rate of 10.5 million tpy 
of chromlte products, there is approximately 60 yr of 
recoverable chromite available for consumption from 
just the 1.2 billion t of demonstrated resource (632 
million t of chromite products) herein evaluated. The 
obvious coi ciut'cn is that there is no shortage of 
chromite resources nor serious (quantitative) supply 
problems, given the ability of South Africa (and to a 
lesser extent Zimbabwe) to expand their productive 
capacities, as well as the emergence of potentially sig- 
nificant tonnages available from India and the Philip- 
pines. The major issue of concern is the current con- 
centration of productive capacity in southern Africa. 

The level of chromite demand depends upon the level 
of steel and chemical market demand, which in turn is 
based upon the level of general economic activity. The 
question of which mining operations and countries 
will provide the supply that fulfills the demand will 
depend primarily upon production costs (including 
transportation) and the resource base; the lowest cost 
producers with the largest resource base should in- 
creasingly serve as world industry suppliers. However, 
other factors such as risk, bilateral agreements, politi- 
cal changes, etc., will also impact upon which mines 
and/or countries will provide future supply. 

From a long-term point of view, it can be expected 
that an increasing percentage of chromite supply will 
come from seam-type deposits, such as South Africa 
and Zimbabwe, as the relatively finite podiform-type 
resources (historically the major supply sources) are 
depleted. Chromite output from the major producing 
nations that have podiform-type resources, such as 
Turkey, the Philippines, Albania, and the Soviet 
Union, should decline relative to seam-type producers. 

A cross-country comparison of mining costs per ton 
of product (table 5) demonstrates the advantage of 
chromite resources that are amenable to surface min- 
ing, such as in Finland, and also demonstrates the 
importance of stripping ratios and concentration ra- 
tios. Thus, Finland, with low stripping and concen- 
tration ratios, has much lower surface mining costs 
than Brazil, which is expected to encounter increasing- 
ly higher stripping ratios as the Campo Formoso 
surface resource is mined out, and which faces a 
higher overall concentration ratio. 

The advantage of greater scale economies and 
thicker chromite seams is apparent in the lower South 
African mining cost estimate compared with that of 
Zimbabwe. The estimates derived for Turkey and the 
Selukwe and Belingwe (Podiform) districts of Zim- 
babwe demonstrate the cost advantages apparent from 
mining large, high grade, underground podiform 
resources. 

A similar comparison of beneficiation costs shows a 
direct correlation between the two factors, in situ 
grade and beneficiation method, and the cost per ton 
of chromite product. Thus, Zimbabwe, with high in 
situ grades and mostly simple beneficiation methods, 
has a very low milling cost per ton of salable product 
relative to, for instance, the low-grade eluvial deposits 
of the Philippines, which have very low in situ grades 
and relatively complicated heavy-media, magnetic- 
separation methods of beneficiation. 

Transportation is of special concern, since it involves 



both the actual cost of transportation and the avail- 
ability of a suflBcient transportation network. The 
total cost of transportation is determined by distance, 
the mix of transport mode employed (i.e., truck, rail, 
and ocean freight) , the cost of each mode in the differ- 
ent countries, and the product (chromite or ferroalloy) 
that is being transported. The capital and operating 
expense of truck transport is borne entirely by the 
mining concern; rail capital costs, with the exception 
of connecting spurs to a main line, are generally an 
infrastructural given, with the rail freight charge to 
the point of sale borne by the mining concern. Trans- 
port costs for barging and international ocean freight 
to the point of sale are a major operating expense for 
the world chromium industry and combined with other 
internal transport costs help to determine regional 
competitive advantage. 

In the case of chromite, transportation includes the 
cost of moving the ore from the mine or mill site to 
the port of exportation, including all handling and 
loading charges. For ferrochromium, transportation 
includes the cost of moving the ore from the mine or 
mill site to the appropriate smelter (either in-country 
or to Europe, Japan, or the United States) plus the 
cost of moving the ferroalloy itself to the point of sale 
or port of exportation, also including all handling and 
loading expenses. A major difference in total expense 
between transporting chromite and ferrochromium lies 
in the increased handling charges of the latter. These 
handling costs are generally twice the cost of handling 
chromite products and this relationship has been 
adopted as a standard here. 

Table 6 provides a detailed breakdown of (chromite) 
transportation costs for the countries studied. A cross- 
country comparison of internal chromite transporta- 
tion costs demonstrates the obvious advantage of close 
proximity of mining operations to ports of exporta- 
tion. It is clear that mines in such countries as the 



Table 6. — Chromite transportation cost estimates from 
mines to ports within various countries 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 







Cost per metric ton concentrate 








Weighted- 


Country of origin 


1 Port city 


Range 


average 


South Africa 


. Durban, South Africa . . . 


. $20.00-$32.00 


$26.00 




Maputo, Mozambique . . 


. 12.00- 24.00 


16.50 




Port Elizabeth, South 


29.00- 41.00 


34.00 




Africa. 






Zimbabwe 


. Beira, Mozambique . . . 


. . 20.00- 40.00 


27.50 




Durban, South Africa . . 


. . 30.00- 46.00 


38.00 




Maputo, Mozambique . 


. . 33.00- 50.00 


41.00 




Port Elizabeth, South 


56.00- 73.00 


64.00 




Africa. 






Turkey 


Fethiye 


. . 10.00- 17.00 


13.50 




Iskenderun 


. . 60.00- 70.00 


65.00 




Ismit 


NAp 


55.00 




Trabzon 


NAp 


41.00 


Philippines 


. Numerous 


5.00- 18.00 


10.50 


India 


Mangalore 


10 00- 12 00 


11 00 




Paradip 


.. 17.00-22.00 


19.50 


Brazil 


.Salvador 


.. 31.50-32.50 


32.00 


Finland 


•Ajo 


NAp 


9.00 


New Caledonia . . 


■ Tiebaghi 


NAp 


7.00 


Greece 


• Volos 


NAp 


35.00 


Madagascar 


. Tamatave 


. . 14.00- 20.00 


17.00 



NAp Not applicable. 



13 



Table 7. — Projected utilization of chromlte products at highest annual expected production level 

(Thousand metric tons) 

Panarih/1 of rhrnmite Ferrochromium Smelting 

oapacrty oi cnromiie caoacitv In-country smelter requirements" of Chromlte products available 

^""'^ proouctsior ^^ chromlte as raw material feed for export 

rr^etallurgicaluse ^^^^^^^ Proposed^ 

South Africa 4^500 820 500 3,000 1,500 

Zimbabwe 1,000 320 150 1,000 

Turtcey 460 50 50 250 210 

Philippines 580 50 110 470 

India 543 29 156 400 143 

Brazil 190 90 225 

Finland 475 50 125 350 

New Caledonia 85 85 

Greece 40 30 60 

Madagascar ri3 113 

1 Capacity levels utilized in this study assuming that the highest level of proposed expansions of the late 1970's and eariy 1980's is attained. 
' Current estimated smelting capacity based upon information from 1979-80. Includes capacity for the production of both high- and low-C ferrochromium as well 
small tonnages for the production of ferrosilicon-chromium, where applicable. 
^ Includes all announced plans of the late 1970's and eariy 1980's. 
* Chromlte raw material requirements are based upon tonnage factors ranging from 2.0 to 2.5 1 of chromlte per ton of annual smelting capacity. 



Philippines, New Caledonia, and Finland are low cost 
internal transporters of chromite products, primarily 
because the distances are much less than those en- 
countered in all the other countries. The issues of 
internal transportation capacity and its availability 
for the transportation of chromium products are dealt 
with in the individual country sections. 

In order to determine both the current and near- 
term tonnage of high-C ferrochromium potentially 
available from the chromite resources of the nations 
studied, the analyses incorporated each country's cur- 
rent ferrochromium smelting capacity and announced 
expansion plans of the late 1970's or early 1980's. 
Table 7 contains data on the projected level of chromite 
utilization for in-country ferrochromium production 
and the potential amount of chromite available for 
export. The data presented are approximations intend- 
ed to convey the relative resource and product position 
of each nation in terms of the availability of chromium 
in the form of ferrochromium versus the availability 
of chromium in the form of chromite. 

The data of table 7 indicate three trends of import- 
ance. First, there is a noticeable trend toward increased 
ferrochromium smelting capacity being located in 
those nations which possess chromite resources ; those 
nations that contain the largest resource levels — such 
as South Africa, Zimbabwe, and India — show the larg- 
est proposed increases. Second, countries such as the 
Philippines and Greece, which currently do not 
(effectively) produce any ferrochromium, are now 
constructing new smelting facilities. Third, the net 
result is an increasing trend away from the interna- 
tional trading of chromium in the form of chromite 
and toward the trading of chromium in the form of 
(mostly high-C) ferrochromium. 



COMPARATIVE HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

This section presents a brief cross-country, com- 
parative analysis of the cost structure and availability 
of chromium in the form of high-C ferrochromium. In 
this discussion, three product grades are identified for 



comparison; grade-A (>64 pet contained Cr) ; grade- 
B (56 to 64 pet contained Cr) ; and grade-C (52 to 55 
pet contained Cr). These product grade groupings 
recognize the real difference in the selling price of 
ferrochromium, which is dependent upon the amount 
of chromium contained in the ferroalloy product. The 
long-term average total production cost and avail- 
ability of each product grade from each producing and 
potential operation are shown graphically on avail- 
ability curves. Weighted-average total production costs 
(by ferrochromium product grade) are then derived 
for each country in order to rank individual countries. 
Lastly, these production costs are compared with U.S. 
import prices in an attempt to determine the relative 
long-term competitive position of the ferrochromium 
industry in each country vis-a-vis the U.S. market. 

Grade-A, High-Carbon Ferrochromium 

The cost and availability of grade-A, high-C ferro- 
chromium is depicted graphically in figure 7, with 
respective country percentage contributions to total 
availability shown in figure 8. Generally, in the ab- 
sence of ore blending, chromite with a Cr:Fe ratio 2.5 
or greater is required for the production of grade-A 



2 g-.20 









KEY 


-1 T- 


' 


' 


' 


r - 


-: 


— 


- 15- 
-0- 


pet rate of return 
pet rate of return 










rJ 


- 


f 




1 


.s^-- 


-( — 


__i"" 


r 


^: 


, 1 








-J 


f 














- 


- 
















'■ 




5 


10 


15 20 25 


30 35 


40 


45 50 


55 


60 65 



TOTAL POTENTIAL FERROCHROMIUM, lO^t 

Figure 7. — Cost and potential availability estimates 
of grade-A, high-carbon ferrochromium. 



14 



4.0 pet All others 
4.0 pet Philippines 
4.7 pet Turkey 




*6l.9xl0°t 




Total =* 280x10^ 
Figure 8. — Percentage contribution, by country, to total 
eatlmates by product grades A, B, and C. 



high-carbon ferrochromium availability 



high-C ferrochromium. Six of the ten countries evalu- 
ated have at least some chromite resources of a quality 
sufficient for producing this product, the great ma- 
jority of which is contained within currently produc- 
ing operations. Of these countries, Zimbabwe alone 



contains 87.3 pet (54.1 million t) of the potential 
availability estimate of 61.9 million t of grade-A, high- 
C ferrochromium. 

Table 8 ranks the countries according to tonnage 
potential and weighted average cost per pound of 



Table 8. — High-carbon ferrochromium; cost ranges per pound of contained chromium, availability estimates, and percentage 

distribution, by country 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 

Country ''^^TJa" aS'esSe'^'"'^ Availability estimate, 1 0^ t Breakeven cost level 1 5-pct profitability cost level 

GRADE A 

Zimbabwe 87!3 54,097 $0.22-$0.43 $0.25-$0.50 

Turkey 4.7 2,892 .33- .46 .36- .46 

Philippines 4.0 2,439 .32- .41 .34- .64 

Madagascar 2.5 1 ,535 .47 .48 

Nev\^ Caledonia 1 .2 726 .25 .29 

Greece ^3 241 .49 ^7 

Total or weighted-average 100.0 61,930 .37 .40 

GRADE B 

South Africa 55 24,412 $0.31 -$0.34 $0.36-$0.50 

India 40 17,798 .36- .50 .56- .79 

Brazil 4.5 1,899 .41- .53 .50- .59 

Philippines .5 244 .38- .43 .44- .46 

Total or weighted-average' 100 44,353 .32 .44 

Africa 

Id 

pines 

Total or weighted-average. 
' The overall average is calculated without factoring in the Indian cost determinations in order to reflect existing conditions. 



GRADE C 


South Africa 


95 
3 
2 


165,411 
5,332 
2,850 


$0.26-$0.51 

.29 

.40- .56 


$0.30-$0.55 




Philippines 


.43- .70 


Total or weighted-average 


100 


173,593 


.38 


.43 



15 



contained chromium. The cost estimates for Greece are 
higher than the other countries because this country 
is just now developing its own ferrochromium indus- 
try. The cost estimate derived for Madagascar repre- 
sents the cost to produce ferrochromium in Japan 
from Madagascar chromite resources, since that coun- 
try has no local ferrochromium smelting industry. The 
cost estimates for New Caledonia and the Philippines 
(with the exception of one operation) are also on a 
Japan-market basis. For Zimbabwe and Turkey, the 
estimates represent the cost to locally manufacture 
ferrochromium (including the cost of new smelting 
capacity) . 

In order to evaluate these costs relative to a common 
base, they are compared with import sales prices for 
chromium delivered to the United States. On this 
basis, weighted-average cost for all grade-A ferro- 
chromium ranges from $0.37/lb contained Cr at the 
breakeven level to $0.40/lb at the 15-pct profitability 
level. As of the first quarter of 1981, imported grade-A 
ferrochromium was selling in the United States at 
prices between $0.46/lb and $0.49/lb contained Cr; a 
difference of between $0.06/lb and $0.12/lb. However, 
it is estimated that ferrochromium transportation 
costs to the United States can average anywhere from 
$0.04/lb to $0.12/lb contained Cr. Thus, the difference 
of between $0.06/lb and $0.12/lb is similar to the 
range of transportation costs to the United States 
from the different countries involved. It must be 
stressed that the actual cost of any individual ferro- 
chromium shipment is dependent upon such factors 
as the point of origin, the market conditions at the 
time of shipment, the size of shipment, the point of 
delivery, the number and length of stops (demurrage 
charges), etc. Given these factors, it is felt that inter- 
national shipping costs for ferrochromium should fall 
within this $0.04 to $0.12 range, but these costs are 
highly variable. 

According to this criterion, at least two-thirds of the 
total grade-A ferrochromium availability estimate can 
be considered internationally competitive at the 1981 
cost and price levels. In particular, grade-A ferro- 
chromium produced in Zimbabwe and Turkey, and 
Japanese production from high-grade Philippine and 
New Caledonian chromite, are the most cost competi- 
tive. These three countries are major world producers 
of this product. Ferrochromium produced in Greece 
appears to be the least cost competitive. The Greek 
government's development of a domestic ferrochro- 
mium industry would appear to be based more upon 
developmental concerns or EEC trading arrangements 
than international cost competitiveness. 

Grade-B, High-Carbon 
Ferrochromium 

The cost and availability of grade-B, high-C ferro- 
chromium is presented in figure 9 with supporting 
data aggregated by country given in table 8. Percent- 
age contributions by country are shown in figure 8. 
A total of 44.3 million t is potentially available at 
breakeven costs of up to $0.53/lb contained Cr. The 
cost estimates for Brazil, India, and South Africa 
represent total domestic manufacture of ferro- 



KEY 

15-pct rate of return 
• O-pct rate of return 




r- 



^: 



20 40 60 80 100 120 140 ISO 180 

TOTAL POTENTIAL FERROCHROMIUM, 10^ 

Figure 9. — Cost and potential availability estimates 
of grade-B, high-carbon ferrochromium. 

chromium from local chromite resources. The cost 
estimates for the Philippines represent the cost to 
produce this grade of ferrochromium in Japan from 
Philippine chromite resources. 

Although 40 pet of the total potential tonnage is 
available from India, it must be remembered that the 
Indian ferrochromium industry is only beginning to 
be developed, and it is uncertain, at this point in time, 
whether all proposed capacity will in fact be con- 
structed. Thus, the 24.4 million t available from pro- 
ducing South African operations really represents the 
great majority of total available tonnage from current 
smelting capacity. It is primarily this South African 
long-run production cost level that the ferrochromium 
industry of India will potentially compete against. 

In terms of cost, South Africa is approximately 25 
pet lower than the Indian operations, evaluated at the 
breakeven level, and approximately 35 pot less at the 
15-pet profitability level. The cost estimates for India, 
at the 15-pct level, are markedly higher than the other 
nations because of the large capital investments that 
would be required to fully develop India's domestic 
ferrochromium industry while obtaining this long-run 
level of profitability. 

Of greater significance is the fact that of the total 
tonnage of grade-B ferrochromium potentially avail- 
able at or below the average breakeven cost level, 
approximately 100 pet originates from South Africa. 
Of the total tonnage potentially available at the aver- 
age 15-pct profitability cost level, over 98 pet originates 
from South Africa. This means that in this product 
category (and indeed in all lower grade chromite ore 
and ferrochromium categories) as prices increase, an 
increasing percentage of the market is filled with 
South African products (since almost all mining 
operations that were analyzed in South Africa are 
producers, the ferrochromium smelting capacity is in 
place, and the ability to expand mining and smelting 
capacity relatively quickly with scale economies is also 
present) . Also, as prices decline. South Africa virtually 
becomes the market since 98 to 100 pet of all grade-B 
ferrochromium potentially available at or below the 
average cost points is a South African product. 

Comparing these cost estimates on a contained- 
chromium basis, delivered to the United States, with 



16 



average selling prices of imported grade-B ferro- 
chromium, again shows that the long-run production 
costs herein estimated are similar to the first quarter 
1981 market prices when transportation costs are 
included. The costs determined, range from $0.32/lb 
to $0.44/lb contained Cr, which are similar to the first 
quarter 1981 U.S. import selling prices of $0.46/lb to 
$0.47/lb. 

Grade-C, High-Carbon 
Ferrochromium 

The cost structure and availability situation for 
«rade-C ferrochromium is also entirely based upon 
cost conditions in South Africa. As figure 8 indicates, 
95 pet of all potential grade-C ferrochromium is de- 
rived from South African-based chromite resources. 
This is of particular importance, since this grade of 
ferrochromium has been capturing the largest share 
of the world ferrochromium market, with the wide- 
spread adoption of the AOD steelmaking process dur- 
ing the last decade. 

The cost estimates, at both profitability levels, for 
South Africa (see figure 10 and table 8) are average 
cost ranges for the production of grade-C ferro- 
chromium from South African chromite resources. 
The ranges are composites of the cost of producing 
this product in South Africa, the United States, 
Europe, and Japan. South African production costs 
are at the lower end of the range (the weighted aver- 
age South African cost is $0.32/lb Cr) with production 
in Japan and western Europe occupying the upper end 
of the range. The United States is estimated to have 
a weighted average of $0.43/lb. These cost ranges 
illustrate the predominant position of South Africa 
as either the source of chromite for the production of 
ferrochromium or, increasingly, the source of this 
ferrochromium product itself as South Africa con- 
tinues to increase its smelting capacity. It is important 
to note again that neither Western Europe nor the 
United States produce any chromite products. Japan's 
production of chromite is very insignificant relative 
to its consumption. Thus, these nations are heavily 
dependent upon South Africa for their chromite raw 
material inputs to the ferrochromium production 
process. 



.36 
S 32 



1 1 1 r 



, 15-pct rate of return 

0-pct rate of return 



y: 



TOTAL POTENTIAL FERROCHROMIUM, 10 

Figure 10. — Cost and potential availability 
grade-C, high-carbon ferrochromium. 



The Philippines (as a source of chromite for Japan- 
ese ferrochromium smelting) and Finland (an ex- 
porter of ferrochromium) are significant because of 
their location vis-a-vis major markets. 

In this regard, special attention is paid to the poten- 
tial for exploiting the very low grade "alluvial" and 
"eluvial" deposits of the Philippines and their potential 
use by the ferrochromium and steel industries of 
Japan. It appears at this point in time that the 
economic position of this resource is submarginal, and 
since the potential tonnage of ferrochromium available 
from these very low grade chromite resources is 
limited, the Philippines source will probably never 
attain the significance of South Africa as a raw 
materials supplier to Japan. 

The country-wide average breakeven and 15-pet 
profitability level cost estimates range from approxi- 
mately $0.38/lb to $0.43/lb contained Cr, respectively. 
Imported grade-C ferrochromium was selling in the 
United States in the first quarter of 1981 for $0.44/lb 
to $0.46/lb contained Cr, which again indicates that 
these derived costs, after factoring in transportation 
charges to the United States, are very similar to 
import market prices. By this criterion, virtually all 
of the 165.4 million t of grade-C ferrochromium po- 
tentially availabile from the chromite resources of the 
(mostly) active mines in South Africa, as well as the 
potential 5.3 million t in Finland, can be considered as 
economic. 

In general, it can be concluded that constraints to 
the further expansion of the international ferro- 
chromium industry are not resource based (there is 
no shortage of chromite), nor in most cases studied, 
economic. Rather, the industry is directly tied to the 
level of demand and highly concentrated in those 
nations that possess the vast majority of chromite re- 
sources, productive smelting capacity, and currently 
hold a dominate market share for the products in ques- 
tion. Clearly, South Africa has a long-term advantage 
for the production of high-C ferrochromium, for as 
figure 8 clearly indicates, 68 pet of the total 280 
million t of high-C ferrochromium of all grades poten- 
tially available from the total demonstrated in situ 
resource that was cost-evaluated, is either produced in 
South Africa or represents smelting capacity depend- 
ent upon South African chromite resources. 

On an individual country basis, the major implica- 
tions as a result of the information and analyses of 
this study are as follows : 

South Africa 

• Both chromite and ferrochromium production should 
increase in the future, both in absolute terms and 
as a percentage of the world total. 

• South Africa should increasingly set the long-run 
minimum cost (and price) levels for both chromite 
and high-C ferrochromium as a result of an enorm- 
ous chromium resource base, large mining and 
processing capacity, and the attendant scale 
economies. 

• The increase in high-C ferrochromium smelting 
capacity should come at the expense of declining 
U.S., European, and Japanese capacity. 



17 



Zimbabwe 

• Chromite and ferrochromium production costs 
should rise through time as the podiform resources 
are depleted and a greater percentage of production 
comes from the seam-t3T)e operations. 

• Large capital investments will be required to alle- 
viate transportation and energy supply bottlenecks 
in order to realize the full potential of the industry. 

• The availability of chromite products for export 
should decline as the country's stated goal of utiliz- 
ing 100 pet of its chromite for ferrochromium pro- 
duction is instituted. 

Turkey 

• Full capacity production of ferrochromium (includ- 
ing expansion plans) would exhaust the demon- 
strated resource estimate in 26 yr ; the potential for 
proving additional chromite resources is considered 
good; and ferrochromium production and export 
should increase as chromite exports decrease. 

Philippines 

• The construction of the Philippines' first commer- 
cial-scale ferrochromium smelter and the resultant 
ferrochromium production will reduce the amount 
of high-grade metallurgical chromite available for 
export and represents a continuation of the trend 
toward ferrochromium production in those countries 
that mine chromite. 

• The vast majority of the low-grade eluvial and 
alluvial resources currently appear to be subeconomic 
both in terms of chromite and ferrochromium pro- 
duction costs. 

India 

• Major implications are that chromite export con- 



trols and increased domestic production of high-C 
ferrochromium in the future will reduce chromite 
products available for export. This also represents 
a continuation of the trend toward ferrochromium 
production in those countries that mine chromite. 

Brazil 

• Should be able to meet its projected domestic ferro- 
chromium consumption needs and continue to export 
relatively small quantities of ferrochromium prod- 
ucts, but does not hold any promise as a major 
available source of imported chromite for the United 
States at this time. 

Finland 

• Should remain a major exporter of both chromite 
and ferrochromium for the rest of this century. 

New Caledonia 

• All chromite output should most likely go to Japan 
as raw material feed for the production of high-C 
ferrochromium. Will probably play only a minor role 
in the overall world production of chromite in the 
future. 

Greece 

• All chromite production will be processed locally 
into high-C ferrochromium at the newly constructed 
smelter with the output being exported, most likely 
to the EEC. 

Madagascar 

• No major change in trading patterns is expected, 
and the construction of a domestic ferrochromium 
smelter remains doubtful. 



THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA 



GEOLOGY 
AND RESOURCES 

South Africa's chromite resources are predominant- 
ly contained within four basic geographic-geologic 
areas (fig. 11) : (1) the eastern (Lydenburg) belt of 
the Bushveld Complex, (2) the western (Rustenburg) 
belt of the Bushveld Complex, (3) the Potgietersrust- 
Grasvally District located in the northern part of the 
Bushveld Complex, and (4) the Zeerust-Marico Dis- 
trict, an extension of the Bushveld Complex to the 
west of the western belt. 

Much has been published in the past on the origin, 
geology, and mineralogy of the Bushveld Complex 
(10-19). The following chromite resource discussion 
focuses mainly on the specific geologic data and as- 
sumptions pertinent to this analysis rather than 
attempting a comprehensive overview of the myriad 
of information published on the Bushveld Complex. 



As a whole, the Bushveld Complex covers a total of 
67,000 sq km and consists of three major rock forma- 
tions : a granite-granophyre unit, the Rooiberg f elsite, 
and a gabbro-norite fraction. In terms of economic 
minerals, the gabbro-norite unit is the most important 
since it contains a magnetic-vanadium horizon, a 
platinum-bearing horizon (the Merensky Reef) , and a 
section of numerous chromite seams. The gabbro- 
norite unit can be more specifically broken down into 
country rock units of pyroxenite, norite, and anortho- 
site which contain the chromite and platinum seams as 
individual layers that are generally concordant to the 
igneous layering. Further subdivision of the chromite 
seams within the Complex is possible into three major 
groups — (1) the upper group, (2) the middle group, 
and (3) the lower group — but this is as far as a gen- 
eral subdivision or correlation can go. The number and 
type of chromite seams present varies from one mining 
property to another. Table 9 summarizes the general 



18 



LEGEND 
O City or town 
• Port facilities 
li Ferrochromium smelter (existing) 
I I Railroad 
(^^ Pyroxenite area (gobbroond norite) 



100 200 300 





Figure 11. — Location of South African chromlte mining areas, smelting facilities, railway network, and ports of exportation. 



Table 9. — General characteristics of upper, middle, and lower group chromlte seams in South Africa 



Group 



Geological characteristics 



Important seams 



Economic significance 



Upper — Anorthosite country rock, same 
marker bed as for platiniferous 
Merensky Reef. Lowest Ox^^ 
grade, thinnest seams, fewest 
seams (2) of all the groups. 
Inconsistent outcrops. 



, Norite and anorthosite country 
rock. In idealized geologic 
section, this group is 
stratigraphically closer to lower 
group than to upper group. 

, Mostly pyroxenite country rock. 
As many as 25 or more 
individual, uncorrelated seams 
have been identified. Most 
consistent outcrops of the 3 
groups. 



UG2. 



MG1,MG2, MG4. 



Main seam (also 
known as LG6, main, 
Steelpoort, and 
Magazine seam at 
various localities), 
leader seam, LG2, 
LG3, LG4, H, F 



. The UG2 seam is to be processed by 
Western Platinum for production of 
platinum-group metals, copper, and 
nickel. Could produce chromlte 
concentrates of low CrjOj grade (35 to 40 
pet) with a low Cr:Fe ratio (1 .35), but 
processing and economics are still 
relatively unknown. The lowest grade 
group in terms of Cr^Oj. 

. The MG1 , MG2, and MG4 seams are 
presently being mined in West Bushveld. 
Predominantly medium-grade, high-Fe 
chromlte ores and concentrates (43 to 47 
pet Cr203; 1.5 to 1 Cr:Fe ratio). 

The vast majority of past and present 
production has been from seams 
classified as lower group seams. The 
main and leader seams together 
comprise the "main horizon" and are 
most important from a chromite 
production standpoint. Predominantly 
high-Fe chromite ores and concentrates. 
(43to47pctCr2O3;1.5to2.0Cr:Feratio). 



Boschoek to Brits section in West Bushveld. 
Section north of Pilanesberg in West 
Bushveld. 



Rustenburg to Marikana sector in West 
Bushveld. Sector east of Marikana in West 
Bushveld. Section in area north of 
Steelpoort River in East Bushveld. 

Nearly ubiquitous in all areas. Basically 
absent only in four areas: 

(1) 20-km section north of Rustenburg. 

(2) 1 5-km section from Brits westward. 

(3) Most of the 35-km section from the 
Consolidated Chrome mine northeast 
to the Zwartkop mine. 

(4) 1 5-km section north of Steelpoort 
River. 



characteristics of each of the three groups of chromite 
seams. As shown, only 11 seams have had or could 
have economic importance to the chromite industry in 
South Africa. 

A major portion (60 to 75 pet) of chromite ore in 
South Africa is friable, which means that it occurs as 



loose grains or in fragments that readily disintegrate 
into "fines" when handled. Products from mining and 
milling are basically in five forms: (1) friable run-of- 
mine ore, (2) hard, lumpy run-of-mine ore, (3) ore 
concentrates, (4) refractory-grade ore, and (5) foun- 
dry sand. 



19 



Because the majority of Bushveld chromite is rich 
in iron content and low in Al^O,, content, it has limited 
use as a refractory material. However, the seams in 
the Marico-Zeerust District and those of the Grasvally 
District are of better refractory quality (more AljOs, 
less FeO) than the main Bushveld ores. This overall 
"less-refractory" quality of South African ores is 
claimed to give them an advantage over Zimbabwean 
ores in terms of ferrochromium smelting because they 
can be smelted at a faster rate with slightly less flux 
addition (16, p. 34). For example, a normal medium- 
grade South African chromite ore contains only 28 
pet slag-forming materials versus 87 pet for a typical 
Zimbabwean ore (16, p. 34). 

Because of the large strike lengths (horizontal sur- 
face distance) and generally continuous nature of the 
seams (particularly for the lower group), both hori- 
zontally and to depth, any projection for resource 
estimation purposes will result in enormous chromite 
tonnage estimates for the entire Bushveld Complex. 
The official Bureau of Mines reserve estimate as of 
1980 was 2.5 billion t (6, p. 33), while the official South 
African Minerals Bureau estimate was as high as 
8.096 billion t (9, p. 55). At 1980 crude ore (full 
capacity) production levels, these tonnages, if proven 
to be extractable, would last 370 and 507 years, res- 
pectively. Other resource estimates run as high as 16 
billion t (10, p. 120), which at 1980 crude ore (full 
capacity) production levels would last for over 2,600 
yr. The above estimates do not include chromite con- 
centrates that possibly could be produced from the 



platiniferous UG2 seam, which has been estimated to 
contain pso million t of chromium-bearing material to 
a vertical depth of 1,200 m (19) . Assuming that rough- 
ly 10 pet of this material is comprised of the mineral 
chromite and assuming a milling recovery of 80 pet 
to produce a 35-pct-Cr,03 concentrate, this 630 million 
t of material in the UG2 would contain about 50 million 
t of chromite concentrates. 

The most recent and detailed estimate of chromite 
resources in South Africa is that of Von Gruenewaldt 
(19). His calculation in 1981 separated the resource 
into an "identified reserve" category, defined as ex- 
ploitable material down to a vertical depth of 150 m, 
and an "identified resource" category, defined as ex- 
ploitable material from 160 m down to 1,200 m, which 
he considers the depth to which the prevailing geo- 
thermal gradient would allow mining operations in the 
Bushveld Complex. The "identified reserve" category 
is estimated at 718 million tons, of which 12 pet is 
considered high-Cr material and 88 pet high-Fe 
material. The "identified resource" category is esti- 
mated to contain an additional 8.535 billion t com- 
posed of 7 pet high-Cr material and 55 pet high-Fe 
material in seams presently being mined, and 38 pet 
high-Fe material in seams not presently being mined. 
Thus, his estimate to 1,200 m vertical depth totals 
9.253 billion t. 

In contrast to the huge estimates reported above, 
this study analyzes the economics of extracting only 
about 638 million t of in situ material at the demon- 
strated level. Table 10 presents these data on a proper- 



Table 10. — Estimated In situ chromite resource data for selected South African operations as of 1980 

Average Irvsitu tonnage', 10^ 

Operation in situ 

grade, pet CrzOs Demonstrated resource Contained CrjO, Identified resource^ 

West Bushveld: 

Zwartkop 44,5 59,317 26,396 178,269 

Consolidated Chrome 40.0 4,275 1 ,710 16,291 

Ruighoek 41 .0 16,227 6,653 60,873 

Ntuane 38.0 14,898 5,661 49,370 

Walerkloof 42.0 19,212 8,069 73,575 

Millsell 42.0 4,836 2,031 26,297 

Kroondal 42.0 33J08 14,157 123,830 

Rustenburg (Chrome Chemicals) 39.0 24.920 9,719 88,981 

Henry Gould 40.0 21.957 8,783 78,370 

Mooinooi 38.5 21,294 8,198 127,656 

East Bushveld: 

Ucar Chrome 44.0 29,075 12,793 67.978 

Winterveld (TCL)-N. Section 41.0 43,815 17.964 150,757 

Groothoek 41.0 29,004 11,892 66,335 

Dilokong 42.0 42,179 17,715 81,573 

Montrose (Hendriksplaats) 43.0 36.130 15,536 60.216 

Winterveld (TCL)-S. Section 40.5 112,946 45,743 195,442 

Lavino (Grootkxwm) 41.5 21.321 8,848 21,321 

Potgietersrust-Grasvally District: 

Grasvally 30.0 21,471 6,441 44,336 

Zeerust-Marico District: 

Marico (Nietverdiend) 43.0 60,971 26,217 376,891 

Zeerust 43^0 20.320 13,038 20,320 

Total or average Ml .0 ^637,876 '267,564 2,785,768 

' Data may not add to totals shown because of averaging and independent rounding. 

' Identified resource tonnage calculated to 1 ,000 m vertical depth; equals demonstrated plus Inferred tonnage; where equal, there was insufficient information to 
support an inference beyond the demonstrated level. 

^ Country grade is the In situ weighted average over all operations at the demonstrated level. 

' Covers all seams for which there is current production or for which there was production in the late 1970'8 calculated according to the specific geologic and 
engineering criteria outlined in the text for the purpose of cost analysis. 

' Total in situ contained CrzOa, at the demonstrated level for all operations Included in this study, summed over all Individual operations. Does not equal 
weighted-average grade times total demonstrated resource level. 



20 



Table 11. — Criteria for determination of demonstrated chromite resource estimates for selected South African operations 



Operation and farm' 



District and seam 



Demonstrated 
resources, lO^t 



In situ Recoverable 



Evaluated mine Estimated life 

capacity level, of recoverable 

lO^tpy resources, yr 



Deptti, m 



Strike 
length, 



Vertical Incline 



Zwartkop: Zwartkop : 



West Busfiveld— Magazine (LG6), 



1.317 53,385 



Schildpadnest 385, Vlakpoort 388, Intermediate, New. 

Middellaagte 382. Haakdoorn 374. 
Consolidated Chrome: Groenfontein West Bushveld— Main (LG6). 

302. 

Ruighoek: Ruighoek 169JP . .do 

Ntuane: Ruighoek 169JP, . .do 

Vogelstruisfontein 173JP. 

Waterkloof: 

Waterkloof 305JQ do 

Waterkloof 306JQ do 



Total or average. 



Waterkloof 305JQ do 

Do West Bushveld — Leader . 

Total or average 



West Bushveld (MG1) 

East Bushveld— Steelpoort (LG6). 



do 43,815 



Kroondal: 

Kroondal 304JQ West Bushveld— Main (LG6).. 

Do West Bushveld — Leader 

Total or average 

Rustenberg (Chrome Chemicals): West Bushveld — Main (LG6). . 
Rietfontein 338JQ. 

Henry Gould: 

Buffelsfontein 467JQ do 

Elandsdrift 465JQ do 

Total or average 

Moolnooi: Elandskraal 469JQ. 
Ucar Chrome: Jagdiust 418KS. 

Wlnterveld417KS. 
Winterveld (TCL)— N. Section: 

Waterkop 113KT, Zwartkopies 

413KS, Paschaskraal 466KS. 
Groothoek: Groothoek 256KT, 

Twyfelaar 1 19KT, Driekop 253KT 
Dilokong: Maandagshoek 254KT, 

Mooihoek 255KT. 
Montrose (Hendriksplaats): 

Hendriksplaats281KT. 
Winterveld (TCL)— S. Section: 

Doornbosch 294KT. Winterveld 

293KT. Onvenwacht 330, 

Goudmyn 337KT. 
Lavino (Grootboom): Grootboom 

336KT. Annex Grootboom. 

Grasvally: 

Grasvally 293KR Potgietersrust 

Zoetveld 294KR do 

Total or average 

Marico (Nietverdiend): Marico-Zeerust— LG2 

Goudini 30JP, Allenyspoorl 29JP, Marico-Zeerust— LG3 

.Driekop 14JP. Strydfontein 12JP. Marico-Zeerust— LG4 

Total or average . . . 

Zeerust: Turfbult 10JP Marico-Zeerust— LG3 

Marico-Zeerust— LG4 



16.227 
14,898 


13,793 
14,071 


250 
60 


55 
234 


1.5 
1.6 


300 
300 


1,442 
1,917 


4.000 
2,400 


4,028 
15,184 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


1.5 
1.5 


200 
300 


1,000 
1,442 


1,600 
3.000 


, 19,212 


15,369 


175 


88 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp 


2,613 
2,223 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


1.5 
1.5 


200 
200 


1,230 
1,000 


1,900 
1,900 


4,836 


4,352 


250 


17 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp 


, 23,354 
, 10,354 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


1.5 
1.5 


300 
300 


1,570 
1,570 


4,500 
4.500 


. 33,708 
. 24,920 


30,337 
21,182 


350 
225 


87 
94 


NAp 
1.5 


NAp 
300 


NAp 
1,333 


NAp 
4,800 


. 17,121 
. 4,836 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


1.5 
1.5 


300 
300 


1,240 
1,240 


4,000 
1,000 



21,957 


18,373 


21 ,294 


19.165 


29,075 


26.168 



do 



do 



do 



do 



29.004 


24,653 


42,179 


35,852 


36,130 


32,517 


112,946 


101,651 



East Bushveld— F 21,321 



Total or average . 



Grand total 



240 
220 



400 
240 
600 
,300 



64 
80 
119 


NAp 
1.5 
1.5 


NAp 
300 
300 


NAp 

1,400 

710 


NAp 
3.000 
10,500 


197 


1.6 


300 


1,040 


12,000 


62 


1.6 


600 


2,050 


4,000 


149 


1.6 


300 


1,442 


7.500 


54 


1.6 


600 


2,316 


4.000 


78 


1.7 


600 


1,442 


11,000 



5,035 
. 16,436 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


2.4 
2.4 


500 
500 


708 1,600 
872 3.400 


21,471 


19,293 


385 


53 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp NAp 


NA 
NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 
NA 


2.0 
2.0 
2.0 


200 
194 
194 


780 850 
2.085 1,200 
1,640 13,900 


. 60,971 


44,674 


85 


525 


NAp 


NAp 


NA^ NAp 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


NA 
NA 


2.0 
2.0 


36 
204 


602 3,750 
2.011 12.560 


. 20,320 


16,015 


85 


188 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp NAp 


. 637,876 


553,110 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp 


NAp NAp 



' The number assigned to Farm names is current as of 1980 and is an integral part of the Farm name. 



ty basis for the demonstrated and identified resource 
levels, as well as in situ CrgO, grades and contained 
Cr^O., at the demonstrated level. Table 11 provides 
greater detail as to the farms,^ districts, seams, recov- 



8 A mining property can consist of anywhere from one to ns 
many as five or six farms or leases, depending upon the Indlvldnnt 
holdings by companies. 



erable resource tonnages, vertical and inclined depths, 
strike lengths, and estimated life at capacity operation, 
for the 20 properties evaluated. To determine the 
demonstrated resource level, the seams have been 
projected to a vertical depth of 300 m in the majority 
of cases. Where the projection is <300 m, the operat- 
ing company does not own the lease area (farm) in 



21 



/ 



35 pet 
Mining and processing losses+ 
nonmetallurgicol use products 




Chromlte product availability 



3.096 xlO^t, South Atrica 
Minerals Bureau estimate , 1980 



Figure 12. — Summary of South African cost-evaluated In situ tonnage; percent of total potential, 
distribution, chromlte composition, and chromlte product availability. 



the direction of the projection. Where the projection is 
>300 m, the size of the operation was such that the 
rate of mining indicated the need for greater projec- 
tion to reflect a reasonable life for the operation. This 
estimate of demonstrated resources (see figure 12) 
represents roughly 20 pet of the South African Min- 
erals Bureau estimate and consists of approximately 
16 pet high-Cr chromite (Cr:Fe ^2) and 84 pet high- 
Fe chromite (Cr:Fe <2). Of this total tonnage, over 
99 pet is material that will have to be mined by under- 
ground methods. In terms of individual seams, fully 
72 pet (457 million t) is contained in the LG6 seam 
(also called Magazine, Main, and Steelpoort seam), 
while the remaining 28 pet is split among nine differ- 
ent seams. Of the demonstrated 638 million t, it is 
estimated that 533 million t should be recoverable 
through mining, and this in turn should produce about 
412 million t of lump ore, fines ore, and ore concen- 
trates for metallurgical use. 

The operations and seams listed in tables 10 and 11 
constitute the demonstrated resource level evaluated 
for cost and availability purposes in this study. They 
only represent the operations and/or seams that are 
presently producing, are temporarily shut down, or 
have produced in the recent past. There are two reas- 
ons for this limited choice of demonstrated resource 
for analysis: 

1. The operations analyzed include all planned ex- 
pansions of the present operations. In the South 
African chromite industry, expansion of existing 
operations seems to be preferred over developing new 
ones in undeveloped areas. As stated in the South 
African Mining and Engineering Journal of January 
1980, "it is unlikely that new mines will be developed 
in the near future unless they form part of an inte- 
grated operation" (20, p. 59) . 

2. The average life of the demonstrated resources 
for the 20 operations analyzed, at full capacity opera- 
tion, is 124 yr. Even this relatively small amount of 



resource is enormous in comparison to the other na- 
tions evaluated. 

In a discussion of tonnages beyond the demon- 
strated resource analyzed, a few points should be 
made. First, if all of the seams shovsTi in table 11 are 
projected to a further vertical depth of 1,000 m, the 
extension adds about 2.1 billion t of in situ inferred 
material to the 638 million t at the demonstrated level, 
for a total identified tonnage of around 2.7 billion t 
of material. When it is considered that this is only for 
seams presently being mined on producing lease 
(farm) areas, it is easy to see how Von Gruenewaldt's 
"identified resource" for all seams to 1,200 m on pro- 
ducing plus nonproducing farms could be calculated at 
8.535 billion t. Second, it should be realized that many 
engineering and cost details are unknown about mining 
at vertical depths of 1,000 to 1,200 m on the Bushveld 
Complex for a relatively low-cost commodity like chro- 
mite. The geothermal gradient at Rustenburg Plati- 
num's operation is about 21° C (70° F) per 1,000 m. 
This would indicate that at a vertical depth of 1,200 m 
the temperature would most likely be over 50° C (120° 
F) and refrigeration would definitely be required, as 
is the case at Rustenberg Platinum. By contrast, at 
600 m vertical depth (the maximum limit of this 
study), ambient rock temperatures would be only 
about 30° C (86° F), and no refrigeration would be 
necessary. Third, at a dip of 15°, a vertical depth of 
1,200 m would indicate the need for a 4,500-m haulage 
distance underground if the present inclined shaft 
method is used. This is at least four times greater 
than what some of the deepest operations are experi- 
encing at present and indicates that a different method 
of access would be chosen to mine at this depth. Be 
that as it may, the demonstrated resource of 638 mil- 
lion t herein evaluated is sufficient for South Africa 
to produce at a rate at least one-third above 1979's 
production level through the 21st century and can be 
attained simply by slight expansion and/or extension 
to operations and seams presently in production. 



22 



MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

Except for less than 0.5 pet, all of the demonstrated 
resource will have to be mined by underground meth- 
ods. In general, the mining method in use on the 
Bushveld Complex, breast stoping, does not vary a 
great deal from operation to operation since the seams 
all dip gently (5° to 25°) and have similar structural 
and mineralogical characteristics. The most significant 
difference in terms of effect on mine operating cost 
lies with the thickness of the chromite seam in relation 
to the stoping height. 

In the majority of operations, the seam thickness is 
0.9 m or greater and usually represents 90 pet of the 
stope height, which means that relatively little waste 
is produced in stoping operations and can be packed 
back with little trouble. However, some seams are as 
thin as 0.4 m, in which case fully half of the material 
blasted will be waste material. In this case, it is very 
difficult to pack all of the waste back and as much as 
50 pet has to be transported to the surface. This can 
add as much as 60 pet to the mine operating cost 
on a crude ore basis, everything else being equal. In 
general, one stoping section is set up to produce any- 
where from 60,000 to 120,000 tpy of ore. Stoping 
heights vary from as little as 0.9 m to as great as 1.8 
m, depending upon the seam thickness. As far as is 
known, only one operation stopes out two seams from 
one stope, the remainder are mining only one seam at 
a time. 

Access is almost exclusively by means of inclined 
shaft systems that parallel the dip of the seam, al- 
though topographic characteristics can make adit 
access feasible, as at the Lavino operation south of 
the Steelpoort River on the East Bushveld. These in- 
clined shaft systems are usually designed to serve about 
1 to 1.5 km of strike length over the life of the shaft 
and can have individual hoisting capacities of 20,000 
to 200,000 tpy of ore, although most are in the 100,000 
to 120,000 tpy range. Older shafts use drum hoisting 
of ore and waste, but most of the newer shafts utilize 
conveyor belt hoisting, especially where the dip is 15° 
or less. 

Mine operating costs estimated for the 20 operations 
were determined to reflect the long-run average cost 
in constant dollar terms to mine out all of the asso- 
ciated resource for that operation. On a crude ore 
basis, they range from as low as $17/t to as high as 
$43/t. In terms of a percent of total mine operating 
cost, labor costs are estimated to constitute anywhere 
from 38 to 45 pet, materials and supplies compose 33 
to 38 pet, and equipment operation 20 to 25 pet. 
Productivities in underground chromite operations in 
South Africa are estimated to range from 0.5 to 1.5 t 
per worker-shift, with the majority of operations 
estimated to have productivities around 1 1 per worker- 
shift. 

Since all operations analyzed are either producers 
or on standby status, the initial capital investments 
have been recouped. Mining capital costs, then, are 
primarily composed of ongoing development work and 
replacement of mining equipment. Replacement of 
typical mine equipment at the properties analyzed 



would range from about $5/t to $14/t of annual crude 
ore capacity, while development costs for all work 
other than actual stoping would range from $l/t to 
$7/t of annual capacity. It is roughly estimated that 
to bring a 200,000-t capacity, underground operation 
into production from scratch in South Africa would 
cost $4 to $6 million. It is important to note that at 
one recently developed South African mine in this size 
range, it took only 15 months to develop the mine and 
construct the mill, with ore being stockpiled only 5 
months after the start of shaft development (21, p. 
87) . The importance of this is to underscore the tre- 
mendous flexibility of the South African chromite 
industry. In general, production can be doubled or 
halved, in light of changing market circumstances, 
in the course of less than a year. Thus, as prices for 
chromite products increase, the South African chro- 
mite industry can quickly expand production, thus 
moderating prices and ensuring their dominant posi- 
tion in the international market for chromite products. 
For this reason, it is not likely that countries with 
submarginal chromite resources, such as the United 
States, will be able to economically develop a domestic 
chromite industry on a world market basis. Similarly, 
as prices decline, the South African mines can reduce 
production or temporarily shut down, which also tends 
to moderate prices. A period of declining or low mark- 
et prices for chromite products can place some South 
African mines in a position where revenues are not 
sufficient to cover variable costs of production and 
where these variable costs are greater than the fixed 
costs incurred from not producing. When the market 
again turns up, these mines have the ability to reopen 
and expand quickly with scale economies and change 
the product mix if required. 

All of the material analyzed in South Africa goes 
through at least rudimentary benefieiation. A variety 
of methods are in use at the 20 operations, depending 
upon the types of products desired. The methods range 
from a simple screen, hand-sort operation to a complex 
heavy-media, magnetic, gravity-separation plant. In 
the former, examples of products would be a minus 
23-cm, plus 2-cm lump product and a minus 2-cm, run- 
of-mine fines product. In the latter, examples of 
products would be a plus 1-em lump product from 
heavy-media separation and two different-sized con- 
centrate (fines) fractions from gravity and magnetic 
separation. The majority of the operations utilize 
methods between these two extremes, consisting of 
either crushing-washing-screening-hand sorting or 
crushing-washing-grinding-gravity separation. In 
general, where gravity separation is utilized, the pre- 
ferred method is with spirals, even though some prop- 
erties utilize Wifley tables or diamond pans. Overall 
recoveries of CrjOg range from 75 to 90 pet, with the 
vast majority around 82 to 85 pet. With the simple 
methods, the Cr^Os grade can be raised only a small 
amount, estimated to range between 1 and 4 pet. 
However, with the more complex method, some ma- 
terial is being increased from as low as 30 to 33 pet 
Cr^Og in the ore feed to 50 pet in the concentrate 
product. 

Benefieiation operating costs are insignificant rela- 
tive to the overall cost of chromite products FOB the 



port. The estimated operating costs for the beneficia- 
tion plants analyzed range from $1.75/t to $6/t of 
crude ore feed. The labor portion of these costs is 
estimated to range from 40 to 50 pet, while equipment 
operation accounts for roughly 20 to 25 pet, and 
maintenance-supplies costs contribute 30 to 35 pet. 

Mill plant and equipment costs vary considerably in 
terms of the estimated replacement cost. They range, 
roughly, from an inexpensive $2 per annual ton of 
crude ore feed for the simplest screen-sort operation 
to as high as $12.50 per annual ton of crude ore feed 
for the most complex methods. The more common 
gravity mills cost about $6 per annual ton of crude 
ore feed capacity. Thus, for a 200,000 tpy gravity 
milling operation, the estimated plant and equipment 
capital investment would be approximately $1.25 mil- 
lion. Infrastructure reinvestments should represent a 
minor portion of future investments by the operations 
since all are either producers or on standby status, and 
most infrastructural items are in place. 

It should be noted that in the mid-1970's concern 
was raised that the operating companies were gener- 
ally restricting investments in their beneficiation 
plants and that this policy had resulted in bottlenecks 
and inadequate capacity at some operations." It is 
believed that this problem has been partially addressed 
as evidenced by production levels and expansion plans 
of the late 1970's. This study has incorporated into 
the economic analysis all necessary mill capacity ex- 
pansions to accommodate the mining capacity expan- 
sions that were assumed. Bottlenecks at the milling 
production stage, in terms of cost and time, would 
seem to pose no serious problem for the South African 
chromite industry under the relatively small increases 
assumed for this study. 



CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

Mining of chromite began in South Africa in 1924 
and has been continuous since that time. It is esti- 
mated that approximately 40 million t of chromite 
products have been produced in South Africa through 
1980. Annual output has been steadily increasing. 
Production in 1979 totaled 3.3 million t of chromite 
products, a 37-pct increase over 1976 production (22, 
p. 33). In 1980, production was up slightly to 3.4 
million t of products (6, p. 33). South Africa now 
accounts for roughly one-third of total world chromite 
production and around 60 pet of market economy 
country production. 

It is estimated in this study that to produce 3.3 
million t of products per year would require about 4.3 
million t of crude ore and would represent the extrac- 
tion of about 4.8 million t of in situ resource. If 
market conditions warrant and all planned expansions 
of the late 1970's were instituted in 3 yr, the 20 
operations analyzed could produce a total of about 4.5 
million t of products from about 6.1 milion t of crude 
ore, an increase of 36 pet over 1979's production. At 
this production level, individual mine capacities would 



•Confidential source. 



range from 25,000 to 1.3 million tpy of crude ore, with 
an average of 300,000 tpy. Chromite product output 
would range from 19,000 to 877,000 tpy, with an aver- 
age of 225,000 tpy. 

Almost all of the chromite products produced in 
South Africa are either high-Cr chromite or high-Fe 
chromite, with the great majority being high-Fe 
chromite suitable for the production of grade-C, high- 
C ferrochromium. 

Three major cost items determine the FOB operat- 
ing cost per ton of chromite product; mining and bene- 
ficiation costs per ton of chromite product, plus trans- 
portation, handling, and loading costs to the closest 
port of exportation (excluding capital costs and taxes). 
These costs were determined for each operation and 
are related to cumulative chromite availability in figure 
13. These operating costs are long run average costs of 
extracting, processing, and transporting all of the 
chromite products potentially recoverable from the 
demonstrated resources herein evaluated. The esti- 
mated productive lives vary from 17 to 525 yr, depend- 
ing upon each operation's resource and production 
level, with an average mine life of 124 yr. Because the 
time frame is so long, these mining and milling operat- 
ing costs take into account such factors as increasing 
underground haulage distance and additional under- 
ground development needed, as well as expansions to 
mining and processing capacity planned for the near 
term as they affect operating costs. As such, they re- 
flect general trends through time (which is the purpose 
of this study) but do not necessarily represent cur- 
rent costs of operation. Transportation costs do repre- 
sent current costs (in 1981 dollar terms) and reflect 
the general infrastructural network in place as of the 
study date. 

Given that mine operating costs per ton of crude ore 
range from $17 to $43, and a weighted average ore-to- 
concentrate product ratio of 1.2, then mine operating 
costs per ton of chromite product vary from approxi- 
mately $20 to $52, as shown in figure 13. A weighted 
average over all tonnage yields an estimate of $35, 
which represents around 54 pet of the total combined 
operating costs. For 19 of the 20 operations, mill 
operating costs per ton of crude ore range from $1.75 
to $4.00, which results in a range of from $2/t to $5/t 
of chromite product. This low cost and narrow range 
is a result of similar and relatively constant mill feed 
grades, mill recoveries, and beneficiation methods used. 
The weighted average of $4 over all chromite product 
tonnage represents approximately 6 pet of the com- 
bined operating costs. 

Table 12 presents a breakdown of the most common 
routes, transport modes, general distances, and trans- 
portation costs from the four chromite producing re- 
gions of South Africa to the two closest ports of 
exportation, and to the Witbank area (see figure 11 for 
details), which was selected as a centrally located 
ferrochromium smelting center in order to ascertain 
an average chromite transportation distance to smelt- 
ing facilities. 

For all four regions, there is a distant cost savings 
to utilizing the port of Maputo in Mozambique, with 
the operations of the East Bushveld able to reduce 
chromite transport costs by one-half, overall, when 



24 




400 



TOTAL RECOVERABLE CHROMITE, lO^t 
Figure 13. — Mfnlng, milling, and transportation costs, FOB Durban, and availability of chromlte from selected South African 
operations. 



Table 12. — Most common routes, transport modes, approximate distances, and costs from the four chromite-producing areas in 

South Africa 

(January 1981 dollars) 
Originating district or area and Approximate distance, km Cost per metric ton chromite 

destination Truck to railhead Rail Range Weighted average 

East Bushveld: 

Port-Maputo, Mozambique &-60 450 $12-$17 $14.00 

Port-Durban, South Africa 5-60 1,025 27-32 29.00 

Smelter-Witbank' 5-60 275 7-15 11 .00 

West Bushveld: 

Port-Maputo, Mozambique 5-20 600 15-20 16.50 

Port-Durban, South Africa 5-20 800 20- 25 22.00 

Smelter-Witbank' 5-20 225 ^6-9 7.50 

Potgietersrust: 

Port-Maputo, Mozambique NAp 650 NAp 17.00 

Port-Durban, South Africa NAp 900 NAp 25.00 

Smelter-Witbank' NAp 300 NAp 8.00 

Marico-Zeerust: 

Port-Maputo, Mozambique 60 700 NAp 23.50 

Port-Durban, South Africa 60 900 NAp 28.00 

Smelter-Witbank' 60 350 NAp 17.00 

NAp Not applicable. 

' Refers to the WItbank area as the point of common reference. 



25 



utilizing this port. However, Maputo has declined 
noticeably in terms of the amount of cargo handled 
since the latter half of the 1970's. The most recent 
estimates show Maputo handling only about 500,000 
tpy (23, p. 330) and currently can only berth vessels 
up to 65,000 t (2i, p. 53). The inland distances from 
mine sites to ports range from approximately 450 to 
750 km to Maputo and from approximately 800 to 
1,100 km to Durban. All mines are in close proximity 
to railheads and with the exception of the Steelpoort- 
Belfast Branch line and Zeerust to Krugersdorp, all 
South African railroads handling chromite or ferro- 
chromium are fully electrified. Transportation costs 
average $14/t to $23.50/t of chromite to Maputo and 
$22/t to $29 /t to Durban. If all South African chro- 
mite production was exported through Durban (the 
closest South African port) , a weighted average cost 
of $26/t of product is estimated ; when combined with 
long-run, weighted-average estimates of mining and 
milling costs, this gives a total FOB cost of $65/t of 
chromite product, with transportation representing 
40 pet of the total. Thus, at a long-run FOB Durban 
(operating) cost level of $65/t, approximately 220 
million t of chromite products are potentially avail- 
able. At an operating cost level of $85/t, all 412 mil- 
lion t of chromite products are recoverable. It is im- 
portant to note, as figure 13 indicates, that the total 
FOB Durban operating cost per operation ranges 
from approximately $50 /t to $85 /t. This relatively 
narrow (and low) range reflects the fact that these 
operations are similar in geology, production methods, 
and hence costs. 

The total chromite product availability estimate 
from the demonstrated resources of the South African 
operations is a huge 412 million t of chromite, with 
an average grade of 43 pet Cr^Oj. The tremendous size 
of this availability estimate and the scale of the South 
African chromite industry in relation to the other 
countries discussed in this study can be emphasized 
by taking South Africa's 1979 production of around 
3.3 million t of chromite products and dividing it into 
the chromite product availability estimates derived 
for the other nations. At this production level. South 
Africa would have at least 124 yr of easily attainable 
production, whereas Finland would have only 5.2 yr, 
New Caledonia and Greece <1 yr, the Philippines 3.7 
yr, India 13 yr, Madagascar 1.2 yr, Zimbabwe 39 yr, 
Turkey 2.3 yr, and Brazil 1.4 yr. Clearly, South Africa 
should increasingly dominate the chromite industry in 
general throughout the 21st century, as long as there 
remains a market for primary (mined) chromium. 
It is expected that the long-run minimum cost level, 
which determines long run prices, will increasingly be 
set by the South African industry, thus ensuring that 
particularly high cost, potential producers of chromite, 
such as the United States, will probaby never achieve 
production on an economic basis. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

Currently, there are six ferrochromium smelters in 
South Africa, with a combined capacity of approxi- 



mately 750,000 tpy of high-C ferrochromium, 46,000 
tpy of low-C ferrochromium, and 24,500 tpy of ferro- 
silicon chromium. The great majority of productive 
capacity is devoted to high-C ferrochromium, which is 
reflective of world demand for high-C relative to low-C 
ferrochromium. South Africa roughly accounts for 
about 20 pet of world production of high-C ferro- 
chromium. It is important to note that the invention of 
the AOD steelmaking process by Union Carbide created 
the large markets for high-Fe chromite for metallurgi- 
cal use and high-C ferrochromium as an additive to the 
manufacture of stainless steel. These markets came to 
be heavily dominated by the South African chromium 
industry. This development was the result of many 
factors, such as the Rhodesian trade embargo, but most 
of all represents aggressive South African develop- 
ment and marketing of their tremendous chromite 
resources. Figure 11 shows the locations of South 
African ferrochromium smelting facilities that are 
all ideally situated with respect to energy sources 
(coal and electric power) , raw material sources (dolo- 
mite, silica, etc.), labor supply, transportation net- 
works, and, most importantly, the chromite operations 
themselves. Table 13 provides respective smelter capa- 
cities. 

There are basically four chromite input feeds in use 
at the six smelters, with the diiferences due to the 
type of feed material used and the preparation required 
prior to smelting : 

1. The conventional feed, using 100 pet lumpy ore — 
in use at the Machadodorp and Krugersdorp smelters. 
A briquetting plant has recently been installed at 
Krugersdorp, which allows them to use either run-of- 
mine lump or fines and concentrates. 

2. The combination of run-of-mine ore (30 to 40 
pet) and fines and concentrates (60 to 70 pet) as feed 
— in use at the Tubatse (Steelpoort) smelter. 

3. Feed consisting entirely of fines and concentrates 
which must be converted to partially reduced pellets 
because of the use of the Showa-Denko process — in 
use at the Lydenburg smelter. 

4. A combination of lumpy ore and briquets made 
from fines and concentrates — in use at the Middelburg 
and Witbank smelters. 

Smelting recoveries at older smelters were assumed 
to be 80 pet, while at newer smelters a 90-pct recovery 
was utilized for evaluation. 

At current capacity levels, the domestic ferrochro- 
mium industry requires roughly 2 million t of chromite 
to operate at full capacity utilization. If future develop- 



Table 13. — Current South African ferrochromium smelters and 

estimated 1980 capacity for the production of high- and 

low-C ferrochromium and ferrosillcon chromium 

(Thousand metric tons) 



Smelter location 


Ferrochromium 
High-cart)on Low-cartwn 


rGfrosilicon 
chromium 


Machadodorp 

Middelburg 

Krugersdorp 

Witbank (Samancor) .... 

Lydenburg 

Tubatse 


80 
100 

80 
200 
120 
170 


26 
20 






20 
4 






Total 


750 


46 


24 



26 



ments in the South African chromite industry proceed 
as assumed in this report and chromite production 
were to increase to 4.5 million t of ore and concentrate 
products, then either additional chromite exports or 
ferrochromium production and export would ensue, 
market conditions warranting. In order to determine 
the long-run average cost, availability, and relative 
economic position of South African ferrochromium 
producers, this study determined average production 
costs from a number of perspectives. 

First, South African chromite export levels and pat- 
terns of the late 1970's were maintained and the en- 
tire ferrochromium smelting capacity was utilized 
with domestic chromite resources. The additional ton- 
nage of chromite production left over after accounting 
for chromite exports and for current South African 
ferrochromium production capacity was assumed to 
be sent to new ferrochromium facilities in order to 
factor in the cost of expanding the local industry. This 
extra tonnage would represent about 500,000 tpy of 
additional ferrochromium production capacity. 

This assumes that each furnace will operate at its 
rated capacity. However, a technique for handling 
run of mine ore and concentrates has been developed 
at Tubatse which allows their furnaces to operate at 
25 pet above rated capacity. The continuation of such 
developments would have the double effect of lowering 
the estimated amount of capacity that needs to be 
added while also making South African ferrochromium 
that much more competitive. 

In terms of construction time and costs, this addition 
would not be difficult since the present smelters, es- 
pecially the newer ones, are designed to make low- 
capital-cost extensions possible by the fairly simple 
addition of a furnace module. As stated in the South 
African Mining and Engineering Journal (20, p. 55), 
"certain plants could, for instance, add a module and 
thus produce an additional 100,000 t of ferrochromium 
per year for less than a $40 million investment." It is 
estimated that total capital investments of approxi- 
mately $400 to $500 million would be required to 
achieve this 500,000 tpy increase in capacity. It is felt 
that this level of expansion is well within the capa- 
bilities of the South African ferrochromium industry. 

The average total cost of producing ferrochromium 
in South Africa was then calculated on an FOB smel- 
ter basis and compared to the average cost of ferro- 
chromium FOB the port of Durban in order to isolate 
the cost contribution resulting from inland trans- 
portation of ferrochromium to this port, including all 
handling and loading expenses. 

The results of these analyses are given in table 14. 
It is estimated that inland ferrochromium transporta- 
tion costs from the smelters located near the Bushveld 
Complex to the port of Durban average approximately 
$0.03/lb of contained Cr. This is the difference between 
the weighted average total cost estimate of $0.32/lb 
of Cr calculated FOB Durban as opposed to the $0.29/ 
lb Cr estimated FOB the smelter. 

An additional analysis was performed in order to 
determine the cost differential between ferrochromium 
manufactured in the United States from imported 
South African chromite and the same product manu- 
factured in South Africa and then shipped to the 



Table 14. — Weighted-average cost estimates per pound of 

contained chromium for the production of hIgh-C ferrochromium 

from South African chromite resources, the United States versus 

South Africa 



FOB smelter, South Africa. . . 

FOB Durban, South Africa. . . 

Smelted in the United States, 

FOB Pittsburgh 



$0.29 
.32 



15-pct 
DCFROR 



$0.38 
.41 



United States. To determine the cost differential, the 
same mining operations that formed the basis of the 
long-run average cost estimate for South Africa were 
assumed to have all chromite output shipped to the 
United States for the manufacture of high-C ferro- 
chromium. The result (see table 14) was a weighted- 
average, long-run, breakeven cost level estimate of 
$0.43/lb of contained Cr as compared to $0.32/lb 
determined FOB the port of Durban. However, it is 
estimated that ferrochromium transportation costs to 
the United States can average anywhere from $0.04/lb 
to $0.12/lb contained Cr. Thus, the difference of $0.11/ 
lb is not considered to represent a large competitive 
advantage for the South African producers, since 
ferrochromium transportation costs to the consuming 
centers within the United States (in this case Pitts- 
burgh via Baltimore or New Orleans, including barge 
and rail transport) can easily offset this differential. 
Within the context of this analysis, there would appear 
to be a South African advantage of only a few cents 
per pound of contained chromium. 

Two caveats are in order. First, the actual trans- 
portation cost of any individual shipment is dependent 
upon such factors as market conditions at the time of 
shipment, size of the shipment (ranging from a few t 
up to complete shiploads or 15,000 t or more) , point of 
delivery, number and length of stops (demurrage 
charges), etc. Given these factors, it is felt that inter- 
national shipping costs for ferrochromium should fall 
somewhere within this $0.04 to $0.12 range, but the 
variability of these costs must be stressed. Second, it 
must also be stressed that the variability of inter- 
national shipping costs also affects not only the deliver- 
ed cost of chromite concentrates but also the delivered 
cost of other raw material inputs that U.S. ferroalloy 
producers, located in areas such as South Carolina or 
Ohio, would incur. 

What does represent a long-term advantage for 
South African producers is the fact that all raw ma- 
terial inputs into the smelting process are readily 
available within close proximity. This fact, and the 
desire to increase domestic product value added, repre- 
sent the primary rationale behind the trend of locating 
downstream processing stages close to the sources of 
raw material inputs. In the case of South Africa, this 
fact, coupled with the long-run momentum of large 
installed capacity and the attendant scale economies, 
as well as the advantages from vertical integration, 
should ensure that South African smelting capacity 
will increase while U.S. and European capacity de- 
clines. The issue the United States should address on 
a governmental policy level is how much domestic 



27 



K .04 



KEY 

15-pcf rate of return 

0-pct rate of return 




20 40 60 SO 100 120 140 160 180 
TOTAL POTENTIAL FERROCHROMIUM, 10^ t 

Figure 14. — Cost and potential availability estimates of 
liigli-cariMn ferrochromium from selected South African chro- 
mlte operations. 

ferroalloy capacity, if any, should be maintained and 
at what cost. 

Lastly, an analysis was performed to determine the 
total amount of ferrochromium production potentially 
available from South Africa's demonstrated chromite 
resources. This total South African chromite-resource- 
based, high-C ferrochromium availability estimate is 
approximately 190 million t, which represents 68 pet 
of the total ferrochromium tonnage potentially avail- 
able from all of the demonstrated chromite resources 
evaluated in all 10 of the nations studied. Of this total, 
fully 87 pet is grade-C and 13 pet grade-B ferro- 
chromium. Figure 14 relates the cost per pound of 
ferrochromium to cumulative potential ferrochromium 
availability from the 20 South African chromite 
operations evaluated. These cost estimates were pur- 
posely derived to run the gamut from those repre- 
senting South African ferrochromium production from 
domestic chromite resources, to those representing 
production in the United States, Europe, and' Japan 
from imported South African chromite. The purpose 
is to demonstrate the long-run average total cost of 
South African chromite resource-based ferrochromium 
availability on a major ferrochromium-producing- 
country basis; and in order to emphasize the pre- 
dominance of South Africa as a world supplier of 
chromite for metallurgical uses. The cost estimates 
(table 15) range from $0.14/lb to $0.27/lb of grade-C 
ferrochromium at the breakeven level (with a 
weighted average cost of $0.40/lb of contained Cr) 
and represent the minimum, long-run, constant dollar 
cost level of world grade-C ferrochromium production 
utilizing South African chromite. The cost estimates 
for grade-B ferrochromium (if assumed to be process- 
ed entirely within South Africa) would range from 

Table 15. — Breakeven cost level estimates of ferrochromium 
production from South African-based chromite resources 

Grade C Grade B Total 

Cost range per pound 

ferrochromium $0.14-$0.27 $0.18-$0.21 NAp 

Welglited-average cost per pound 

contained Cr $0.40 $0.29 NAp 

Availability estlmate-IO^t 165,000 25,000 190,000 

Pet of total availability estimate . . . ^7 13 100 

NAp Not applicable. 



$0.18/lb to $0.21/lb ferrochromium (with a weighted- 
average cost estimate of $0.29/lb contained Cr) . 

This total ferrochromium availability estimate, like 
the one for South African chromite products, is 
enormous. To illustrate, if all current South African 
ferrochromium smelting capacity (820,500 tpy) were 
devoted exclusively to the production of high-C ferro- 
chromium from just the 638 million t of South African 
chromite resource that was cost evaluated, this total 
tonnage estimate would represent 231 yr of ferro- 
chromium production. If all planned capacity expan- 
sions were constructed, this tonnage estimate would 
still represent over 143 yr of full-capacity production. 
Basically, there are no "life" limits to either the South 
African chromite or ferrochromium industries. The 
amount, product mix, and duration of production will 
depend solely upon the demand for chromium products. 

In terms of long run cost and availability, it is 
expected that South Africa will increasingly dominate 
the ferrochromium industry conceivably throughout 
the 21st century, and that the long-run minimum cost 
level for high-C ferrochromium will be set by the 
South African industry. Even including the cost of 
expanding ferrochromium smelting capacity by almost 
two-thirds results in a weighted average, breakeven 
domestic cost level of $0.32/lb contained Cr, FOB 
Durban; and even the analytical requirements of a 
15-pct long-run rate of return on this increased level 
of productive capacity results in an average total cost 
estimate lower than that determined at the breakeven 
level for the United States (i.e., $0.41/lb as compared 
to $0.43/lb contained Cr). And again, it must be 
stressed that the in situ demonstrated resource level 
from which this ferrochromium availability estimate 
is derived is itself a very conservative estimate, repre- 
senting only 20 pet of the official South African Min- 
erals Bureau estimate. In short, the world's high-C 
ferrochromium industry for grades B and C is domi- 
nated in terms of cost and quantity by South Africa. 



SUMMARY 

• A cost evaluation was made of 638 million t of 
chromium-bearing resource contained within 20 
operations. 

• This resource is estimated to contain 412 million 
t of recoverable chromite products suitable for 
metallurgical use, with a weighted average grade 
of 43 pet CrjOg. 

• Total high-C ferrochromium potentially produc- 
ible from this chromite resource is estimated at 
190 million tons. 

• Chromite production costs, as defined, were esti- 
mated at $65, FOB Durban, South Africa, with 
mining cost per ton of product accounting for 54 
pet, milling 6 pet, and transportation 40 pet. 

• High-C ferrochromium production costs, as de- 
fined, were estimated for South African producers 
at $0.32/lb contained Cr at the breakeven level, 
FOB Durban, South Africa. The same chromite 
resource smelted to the same grade of ferro- 
chromium in the United States was estimated to 
cost $0.43/lb contained Cr, FOB Pittsburgh. 



28 



Ferrochromium transportation costs to the con- 
suming centers of the United States were esti- 
mated to range from $0.04/lb to $0.12/lb of con- 
tained Cr. 

• South Africa currently accounts for approximate- 
ly 33 pet of world chromite production and 20 
pet of world high-C ferrochromium production. 

• Major implications are that both chromite and 
ferrochromium production should increase in the 
future, both in absolute terms and as a percentage 



of the world total. South Africa should increas- 
ingly set the long-run minimum cost (and price) 
levels for both chromite and high-C ferrochro- 
mium as a result of an enormous chromium re- 
source base, large mining and processing capa- 
city, and the attendent scale economies. The 
increase in high-C ferrochromium smelting capa- 
city should come at the expense of declining U.S., 
European, and Japanese capacity. 



ZIMBABWE 



GEOLOGY AND RESOURCES 

Zimbabwe's chromite resources may be categorized 
into six different types of occurrences :(1) the seam- 
type deposits of the Great Dyke, (2) the podiform- 
type deposits of the Selukwe area, (3) the podiform- 
type deposits of the Belingwe area, (4) eluvial (resi- 
dual) deposits scattered over the Great Dyke, (5) the 
podiform deposits of the Mashaba area, and (6) the 
so-called "chromite inclusion" deposits of various 
areas off the Great Dyke proper. Only the first four 
types of deposits have been of any economic or pro- 
duction significance over the years and, as such, are 
the only types discussed in detail in this section. 

Great Dyke Seam Deposits 

The Great Dyke is one of the most striking geologic 
features in the world. Covering nearly 7,500 sq. km, 
it is an igneous rock complex with a north-northeast, 
south-southwest trend of about 535 km and an average 
width of 5 to 6 km, with its maximum width measured 
at 11 km in the vicinity of the town of Selous. As 
shown in figure 15, the Great Dyke begins about 145 
km north of Harare (Salisbury) and extends to a 
point about 150 km southwest of Fort Victoria. Also, 
as shown in figure 15, the Great Dyke is geologically 
compartmentalized from north to south into four dif- 
ferent complexes — Muzengezi, Hartley, Selukwe, and 
Wedza — ^which correspond to four separate basic-ultra- 
basic intrusions. However, the sequence of rock types 
from complex to complex is remarkably similar and 
can be divided into four major zones as follows: (1) 
quartz gabbro, (2) norite and gabbro, (3) anorthosite 
gabbro, and (4) lower ultramafic zone (serpentinite, 
dunite, and pyroxenite) . 

The lower ultramafic zone comprises a basal dunite 
zone, a central, olivine-rich, dunite-peridotite (harz- 
burgite) zone, and a very thick upper zone composed 
almost entirely of enstatite (a pyroxene mineral) . The 
chromite seams occur within the central harzburgite 
zone and the upper pyroxenite zone. Worst (25) 
identified 11 chromite seams within the Great Dyke 
Complex. These chromite seams are usually quite dis- 
tinct and persistent. 

There has been no mining of any chromite seams 
in the Muzengezi Complex, with only six seams out- 
cropping at isolated localities. 



The Hartley Complex has contributed the most 
production from the seam-type deposits because the 
seams are generally thicker here and extend over 
greater distances along strike. All 11 of the chromite 
seams have been identified in this complex. 

The Selukwe Complex has provided the second larg- 
est amount of production from the seam deposits. 
However, relative to that from the Hartley Complex, 
total production has not been very large. Although 7 
of the 11 chromite seams are known in this complex, 
the vast majority of production has come from only 
seams 1, 2, and 5, and most was from shallow, labor 
intensive surface excavations ("pig-rooting"). 

The Wedza Complex is the least explored of all of 
the complexes and has contributed very little produc- 
tion, all from limited, small scale, open pit operations. 
Six seams (1-6) are known in the Wedza Complex 
either from outcrops or from the Wedza borehole. 

Each of the four complexes has a synclinal form in 
cross section, with the synclinal axis plunging gently 
north and south from its respective south and north 
ends towards the center of the complex. Where they 
outcrop, both limbs (east and west) show dips ranging 
from 26° near the margins to only 4° near the axis 
with an overall average of around 16°. Work in the 
Mtoroshangu area has proven that dips decrease to 
horizontal at the center of the Dyke, in effect connect- 
ing the two limbs across the width of the Dyke. 
Persistence of the seams along strike has also been 
well documented by prior mining operations and loca- 
tions of outcrops. In the area of the Dyke south of 
Mtoroshangu Pass (south of south latitude 17°, 6'). 
tectonic effects, mainly in the form of faulting, are 
minor. The area north of Mtoroshangu Pass has under- 
gone somewhat more faulting and intrusion and, as 
such, the continuity of chromite seams cannot be 
assured. However, this increased tectonic activity has 
actually caused the area north of Mtoroshangu Pass to 
account for the largest portion of past production from 
the seam deposits because outcrops are more numer- 
ous, access by adits and shallow incline shafts is pos- 
sible, and it is also possible to mine more than one 
seam from one access system in certain cases. 

B. G. Worst (25) defined the 11 chromite seams of 
the Great Dyke in terms of the marketing characteris- 
tics prevalent at the time (1960). Thus, he character- 
ized seams 1, 2, and 3 as "chemical-grade" chromite 
ore, and seams 4 through 11 as "metallurgical-grade" 




LEGEND 

O City or town 

h Ferrochromium smelter 
■«-♦-» Roil rood 

^Greot Dyke outline 
Jj (section covetoge shoded) 

Figure 15. — Location of chromite mining 
tion networi(, Zimbabwe. 



Scale, km i' 

smelting facilities, and transports- 



ores. Worst chose this characterization simply because 
the Cr:Fe ratios in seams 1, 2, and 3 are commonly in 
the 1.8 to 2.3 range while those in the other seams are 
very high, ranging from 2.5 to as much as 3.4. 
Changes within the ferrochromium industry would 
now place all of this material in the metallurgical 
category, since chromite with Cr:Fe ratios as low as 
1.3 can be used in producing grade-C charge ferro- 
chromium and ores with low and high Cr:Fe ratios 
can be blended to produce intermediate grade ferro- 
chromium. 

Owing to the high AlgOj and MgO contents (typic- 
ally 11 to 13 pet ALO., and 14 to 17 pet MgO), much of 



the Zimbabwe seam chromite is suitable for refractory 
use and does have negative aspects in the smelting 
process because it forms more slag material and re- 
sults in a slower smelting process. However, for this 
study it was assumed that all of the seam chromite 
material analyzed could be utilized for ferrochromium 
production, simply because the market for refractory- 
grade chromite in and from Zimbabwe is very limited 
and is provided, at present, almost entirely from 
Selukwe podiform operations. 

Table 16 characterizes all 11 seams in terms of 
CrjjOg content, Cr:Fe ratio, thickness, and ore-quality 
tjrpe. Obviously, when trying to generalize occurrences 



Table 16. — Great Dyke chromite seam characteristics 





Thickness, m 


CfjOj 


Cr:Fe 
ratio 






Seam 






- average, 


Ore type 


Occurrence 




Range 


Average 


pet 






' 


0.15-0.40 


0.22 


46 


1.6-2.3 


Hard lumpy along outcrop, friable down-dip; 
Cr^Oj content can be very variable. 


All 4 complexes, more important south of 
f^^toroshangu Pass. 


2 


.15- .40 


.35 


46 


1.4-2.3 


Hard lumpy along outcrop, friable down-dip. 


Do. 


3 


.08- .20 


.12 


48 


2.6-2.9 


Hard lumpy along outcrop, semi-friable to 
friable down-dip, limited data. 


Selukwe and Hartley complexes most important. 


4 


.04- .20 


.15 


49 


2.4-3.3 


Coarse-grained and hard on outcrop and to 
depth-a preferred metallurgical ore. 


Do. 


5 


.05- .20 


.12 


50 


2.8-3.0 


Description only of basal portion-friable to 
semi-friable ore. 


IVIost important in Hartley complex. 


6 


.08- .15 


.12 


50 


3.0 


Bulk of material is friable, 50 pet hard lumpy in 
outcrop. 


Do. 


7 


.10- .15 


.15 


52 


3.0 


Bulk of material is friable, 30 pet hard lumpy 
along outcrop. 


Do. 


8 


NA 


.15 


51 


2.8-3.1 


20 pet hard lumpy along outcrop, friable at 
depth. 


Most known in Hartley complex, mined by pits but not 
effectively by underground methods. 


9 


NA 


.10 


50 


2.8-3.3 


Hard lumpy along outcrop, friable at depth. 


Has only been mined north of f^/ltoroshangu Pass. 


10 


NA 


.12 


50 


3.2 


Hard lumpy along outcrop, friable at depth, 
limited data. 


Do. 


11 


NA 


.10 


50 


2.6 


....do 


Outcrops few, knowledge very scant. 


NA 


Not available. 













over a 500 km strike length, there will be differences 
from any tabulation that results. Individual economic . 
evaluations have attempted to take these differences 
into account. As an example of these differences, seam 
5 is thin in the Selukwe and Wedza complexes (<0.07 
m of solid ore) but has at least 0.10 m of solid ore in 
the Hartley Complex. The CrgOg grades shown in table 
16 are estimates of weighted averages that were used 
in the economic evaluations. 

In terms of ore type, hard lump material in the 
chromium seams only occurs locally under two basic 
conditions: 1) in the immediate vicinity of thrust 
faults and 2) where groundwater circulation has modi- 
fied the matrix material (related to past and present 
water tables.) ^o It appears that below a vertical depth 
of 125 m or so, the only hard, lumpy ore to be en- 
countered will be found in the immediate vicinity of 
faults. For this study, it is estimated that only about 
10 pet of the total Great Dyke seam material analyzed 
will be of the hard, lumpy type (>l-mm size grains) 
while the remainder is considered as friable (fines) 
with average grain sizes of about 0.2 mm. 

There have been many estimates of Great Dyke seam 
chromite resources. The first and foremost was by 
B. G. Worst (25), who included nine separate geo- 
logical maps covering the entire Great Dyke, along 
with cross sections at intervals of approximately every 
3.2 km and longitudinal sections along the axes. As 
part of his study, he estimated the chromite resource 
to total about 296 million t of extractable material or 
370 million t of in situ material, 65 pet being chemical- 
grade (seams 1, 2, and 3) and 35 pet being metal- 
lurgical-grade (seams 4-11). Only 9.5 pet of the total 
tonnage was located in the Wedza Complex, with near- 
ly 25 pet in the Selukwe Complex, and 65.5 pet in the 
Hartley Complex. His estimate was based on the out- 
crops of seams, projected to about 183 m on dip (only 
about 80 m vertical depth) except where seam thick- 
nesses were less than 0.076 m, in which case projection 



was only to 3 m on dip (open cast mining only). 
Worst noted at the time that the total in situ chromite 
resource probably would be more like 10 times his 
original estimate (nearly 3.7 billion t). Other pub- 
lished estimates of Zimbabwe's chromite resources in 
the Great Dyke seam deposits over the years have 
ranged from 50 million t of economically minable high- 
Fe chromite resources (26, p. 25), to 10 billion t of 
total in situ resources.^! Regardless of criteria, it is 
obvious that the tonnage present in the Great Dyke is 
enormous. 

It is estimated that maximum crude ore production 
in the late 1970's from seam deposits on the Great 
Dyke was only around 450,000 tpy. This would mean 
that 3.7 billion t of in situ resource would last for over 
8,000 yr at late 1970's production levels. Since analysis 
of such a large tonnage would necessitate unrealistic 
assumptions as to development schedules and produc- 
tion levels, it was decided that analysis of availability 
would consist only of what were mentioned as produc- 
ing areas (sections) in the late 1970's or areas that 
were recent past producers and held promise for pro- 
duction in the near future. 

The sections comprising the demonstrated resource 
tonnage used in this study are shown in figure 15 as 
shaded areas over the Great Dyke outline. Table 17 
lists these sections, the seams that outcrop, the demon- 
strated resource tonnage, weighted average grades, 
and amount of contained Cr^Og for each of these 
seams along that section. Each seam has been project- 
ed downdip for a length of 300 m (approximately 100 
m vertical) and an in situ tonnage factor of 4 t/cu m 
was utilized. The resulting (cost evaluated) demon- 
strated resource of 175 million t of in situ material 
is located entirely within the bounds of the Hartley 
Complex. The relationship of this tonnage to Worst's 
estimate and the composition of the seam material is 
shown on figure 16. Although the cost evaluated ton- 
nage represents but a small fraction of this potential - 



> Confidential source. 



" Confidential source. 



31 

Table 17. — Estimated in situ cliromite resource data for selected Great Dyke, Zimbabwe, seam deposits as of 1980 

Seams oresent Strike Seam Demonstrated Weighted-average Contained Identified 

Section name and description , ,. ^i„. „, length, thickness, resource, grade, Cr,0,, resources,' 

(o"toroPP'"9) Km 103 1 pctCrA 10^' 103 1 

Gienapp- Ivo: 

BothlimbsofDyke, 10-kmsec.fromS. 16°55'toS. 9-11 8-20 0.10-0.125 6,480 50 3,240 16,880 

17°0'. 
Impinge: 

Both limbs ot Dyke, 12-km sec. from 8.1 6°48' to S. 9-11 6-24 .10- .12 6,144 50 3,072 18,240 

16°55'. 
Sutton-Rodcamp: 

West limb; 18-km sec, from Kildonan to S.17°30'. 4-10 15 .10- .15 15,480 50 7,740 76,440 

Vanad: 

Both limbs; 3-km sec. from Ethel fault southwards. 6-10 2-6 .10- .15 4,032 51 2,056 12,984 

Caesar: 

East limb; 4-km sec. from Caledonian northwards. 4-9 4 .10- .15 3,552 51 1,811 22,848 

Crown-Divide North: 

East limb; 4-km sec. from S. 17°30' to 1 km south 4-9 4 .10-15 3,552 51 1,811 21,088 

of Maquadzi. 
Glenapp-Hay-Noro: 

Both limbs; 7-km sec. from Ethel fault northwards 7-11 10-14 .10- .15 8,976 51 4,578 25,120 

to 8. 17°0'. 
Umvukwes Area: 

West limb; 12-km sec. from Mtoroshangu Pass 5-10 12 .10- .15 10,944 51 5,581 53,856 

southwards to Caledonian. 
Ore Recovery Tribute: 

West limb; 10-km sec. from Caledonian 5-10 10 .10-15 9,120 50.5 4,606 36,960 

southwards to Kildonan. 
Greenvale: 

Eastlimb;8-kmsec. fromS. 17°30' toBrinsham. 5-9 8 .10- .15 6,144 51 3,133 36,672 

Maryland: 

West limb; from 1 -km south of Maryland siding to 4-9 5-8 .10-15 6,384 51 3,256 38,768 

point 8-km north. 
McGowan: 

East limb; 8-km sec. from Hunyani River 1,2, and 5 8 .12- .35 6,720 46.5 3,125 130,372 

northwards to Darwendale. 
Divide: 

East limb; 8-km sec. from Divide mine northwards 4-10 8 .10- .15 8,256 50 4,128 45,696 

to Brinsham. 
Rutala: 

East limb; 25-km sec. from Umfuli River 1 and 2 18 0.25 10,800 46 4,968 283,680 

southwards to point 3.5-km north of Umsweswe 

River. 
Umsweswe: 

East limb; 3.5-km sec. from Umsweswe River 1 and 2 3 0.20- .27 1,974 46 908 37,940 

northwards. 
Umsweswe-Bee: 

East limb; 25-km sec. from Ngezi River 1,2, 5, 6, and 7 14-24 .10- .28 20,808 47.5 9,884 228,960 

northwards to S. 18°30'. 
Windsor- York- York West: 

Both limbs; 20-km sec. from Umniati River 5, 7, 8, and 9 14-40 .10- .15 14,040 51 7,160 33,840 

southwards to S. 19°0'. 
Bat Claims: 

East limb; 8-km sec. from Umniati River 1,2, 5, and 7 8 .10- .28 6,912 47.5 3,283 28,800 

northwards. 
Cambrai: 

East limb; 14-km sec. from Lalapanzi to 1,2, and 5 14 .15- .23 9,391 47 4,414 17,663 

Bembezaan River. 
Netherburn: 

West limb; 21-km sec. from opposite Lalapanzi to 1,2,5 21 .15- .23 14,087 47 6,621 26,493 

S. 19°10'. 
York: 

East limb; 4-km sec. from Sebakwe dam to S. 5 4 .15 734 50 367 1,224 

19°0'. 

Sections costed NAp NAp NAp 174,530 49 85,520 1,195,000 

Sections not costed^ NAp NAp NAp 543,083 49 266,111 3,228,000 

Total or average NAp NAp NAp 71 8,000 49 352,000 4,423,000 

NAp Not applicable. 

' Identified tonnage equals demonstrated plus inferred tonnage. 

2 This area includes the properties of Aver, Boots, Bridge, Chrome Interests, Frances, Great Dyke, Magundi, Maquadzi, Mdindi-Rose, Mount Chrome Claims, Otto, 
Pons, Rhochrome, Seymore, Yani, and Nyamenetsi. 
NOTE: Data may not add to totals shown because of averaging and independent rounding. 

tonnage estimate, it is important to note that this shown in table 17 are presently being mined. In actual 
tonnage itself would last for over 300 yr assuming a operations on the Great Dyke, when mining operations 
mining rate of 500,000 t of crude ore per year and a on the seam being exploited reach a point 300 m down- 
mining recovery of 90 pet. dip along the entire strike length of the section, a 
It must be remembered that not all of the seams decision could be made to proceed farther downdip on 



32 




I75xl06t 
cost evaluated 
(Hartley Complex) 




Composition, 



Great Dyke chromite seams 
S.TxIO^t 



Figure 16. — Composition of cost-evaluated Great Dyke seam material and its 
relationship to total potential in situ tonnage. 



that seam rather than develop the other unexploited 
seams. However, for this economic analysis, it was 
assumed that when the tonnage to a down-dip depth 
of 300 m is exhausted, new development will proceed 
to the next most attractive seam(s) or along strike on 
the same seam rather than extending the current 
operation to greater depths. 

An identified resource has been estimated for this 
study by extending the projections to downdip depths 
ranging from 300 to 2,000 m for (1) all seams con- 
tained within those sections (operations) analyzed at 
the demonstrated resource level, plus, (2) seams not 
outcropping but inferred to occur at depth on the 
sections cost analyzed, plus, (3) those sections of the 
Great Dyke not cost evaluated as demonstrated re- 
sources (nonshaded areas of figure 15) . These results 
give estimates of about 1.2 billion t contained within 
the cost evaluated sections and a total of 3.2 billion t 
contained in the noncovered areas, which results in a 
total in situ identified resource level of approximately 
4.4 billion t, or 3.96 billion t of recoverable resource, 
slightly more than the 3.7 billion in situ tonnage 
Worst expected. However, numbers this large lose their 
relevance in light of the fact that, as already noted, a 
3.7-billion-t resource would last on the order of at 
least 8,000 yr at present mining rates and recoveries. 

Selukwe Podiform Deposits 

The podif orm-type deposits of the Selukwe area have 
historically provided at least 40 pet of Zimbabwe's 
annual production since 1906. It is estimated that 
through 1979 total production from the District has 
been about 11.5 million t of chromite products. 

The Selukwe District abuts and is transsected by 
the western margin of the Great Dyke, as shown in 
figure 17. The total district covers a 30-km length 
(north-south) and a 7- to 10-km width (east-west). 
Within this area are 15 to 20 subordinate complexes 
comprising outcrops of ultramafic rock referred to as 
"slices." Only about eight of these complexes are of 
sufficient size and are proven to contain chromite 
bodies. These eight complexes are estimated to cover 
only about 40 sq km of the total 240 sq km comprising 
the entire District. Of these eight complexes, only 



three, Selukwe Peak, Railway Block, and Valley 
Chrome, have produced the vast majority of output 
over the years. 

The original peridotite sheets and lenses containing 
chromite were emplaced in the early Precambrian 
period nearly 800 million yr prior to emplacement of 
the Great Dyke. The geology of the district is very 
complex owing to multiple stages of folding, faulting, 
metamorphism, metasomatism, and intrusion (27). 
Regionally, the Selukwe District rocks and formations 
belong to the Selukwe Schist Belt, which consists of 
eight formations. The important chromite ore de- 
posits occur only in the talc carbonate, silicified talc 
carbonate, and silicified serpentine units in the Seluk- 
we Ultramafic Formation. 

An early study of the area (28) stated that homo- 
genous chromite ore bodies are irregularly distributed 
throughout the talc-carbonate and serpentine rocks 
and that the homogenous ore bodies took two forms: 
(1) irregular, rounded lenses up to 137 m in length 
and (2) long, narrow bodies with a veinlike outcrop 
and shallow downward extension. Since that time, 
much geologic investigation has been done in the 
District, including extensive surface and underground 
mapping and diamond drilling, especially during the 
years 1957-66. Following are short geologic discussions 
of what have been the most important chromite min- 
ing operations in the District over the years — Selukwe 
Peak and Railway Block. 

At Selukwe Peak, five ore zones occur over a strati- 
graphic thickness of 245 m (29). The lowest two 
zones (in relation to the ultramafic sheet) contain 
chromite of very low Cr203 content (<36 pet) and low 
Cr:Fe ratio (1.7). Zones 3, 4, and 5 contain high-grade 
material of >40 pet Cr^O., and Cr:Fe ratios >2. Zone 
3 covers the main ore zone at Selukwe Peak. As of 
1969, at least 25 ore bodies had been mined or were 
delineated at Selukwe Peak. These ore bodies occur 
sporadically over a strike length of approximately 
2,500 m. The grade of material at Selukwe Peak is 
somewhat lower in terms of CrjOg and Cr:Fe ratio 
than at Railway Block. Supposedly, the main ore zone 
(zone 3) has been traced over the entire 5 km length 
of the Selukwe peridotitic-tectonic "slice", essentially 
double the length that had been worked as of 1969. 




Figure 17. — Location of chromlte ore bodies and mining operations, 
Selukwe Podlform District in Zimbabwe. 



According to Cotterill (29), the Railway Block 
property as of 1969 consisted of five separate zones: 
(1) the Friable Zone, (2) the Railway Block West 
Zone, (3) the Priority Zone, (4) the Central Zone, 
and (5) the Kinraids and Barbadoes Zone. Of all of 
the zones, the most important as of 1969 was the 
Priority Zone, where two large ore bodies plus several 
smaller ore bodies had been found and proved from the 
116 m to the 305 m levels. The larger ore bodies were 
said to occur along 300 m of strike, with average 
thicknesses of 12 m and extensions to depth of nearly 
50 m. Descriptions of other operations analyzed in the 
Selukwe District are shown in table 18. 

Generally, 80 pet of a lens deposit in the Selukwe 
District will consist of chromite grains ranging in 
size from 0.5 to 4 mm and is considered as lump ore. 
The other 20 pet will consist of disseminated, chromite 
grains ranging in size from 0.01 to 0.5 mm and is 
considered as fines ore. The Valley Chrome deposit, 
which is a large low-grade deposit, consists entirely 
of the disseminated fines-type of ore. 



An unpublished report of 1980,^2 estimated that 
there were 3 million t of high-grade, hard, lumpy ore 
and 1.5 million t of low-grade, hard, lumpy material 
available from the Selukwe District podiform deposits. 
Von Gruenewaldt (19) estimates that there is 1 mil- 
lion t available to a vertical depth of 150 m and a 
hypothetical resource of 76 million t available to a 
vertical depth of 1,200 m. The disparities arise be- 
cause of the erratic nature of podiform chromite 
deposits (ore bodies). In essence, as in all podiform 
occurrences (e.g., Turkey, the Philippines, etc.), it is 
virtually impossible to predict from surface occur- 
rences what will eventually be found at depth. How- 
ever, when it is noted that Zimbabwe Mining and 
Smelting Co. announced plans in 1981 to bring three 
new mines — Magazine Hill, Iron Ton, and Railway 
Block East — into production and to expand capacity 
at the Valley Chrome, Selukwe Peak, and Railway 



" Confldential source. 



34 



Table 18. — Ore bodies, ore type, and analysis of crude ore composition, Selukwe District operations-properties, Zimbabwe 



Analysis, uncleaned ore 



Operation-property and ore 
bodies-zones 



Ore type 



AIA MgO 



Cr:Fe 
ratio 



Railway Block: 

Priority Majority tump . 



Central . 
Friable . 



Railway Block West do 

Kinraids-Barbadoes — NA 

Selukwe Peak: 

4A Majority lump 

2A do 

Valley Chrome: 

Black Ore Disseminated, fines 

Blue Ore do 

Magazine Hill: 

Borehole M.H. 50 

219.3 to 219.75 m. 
Iron Sides: 

Borehole I 64: 

84.2 to 85.7 m 

90.3 to 91 .5 m. 

Iron Peak do. 

Iron Ton do. 



49.25 

45.30 

49.80 

49.20 
NA 

45.80 
49.45 

39.70 
42.20 



Majority lump . 
....do 



5.02 

5.96 

3.22 

3.60 
NA 

5.40 
5.60 

8.70 
7.00 



Majority lump 49.55 7.( 



1 2.58 1 5.58 3.8 Two large ore bodies and several smaller ore bodies proved from 

116-m level to below 305-m level. 
1 1 .92 20.70 3.4 Concentration of ore bodies along 60-m of strike, starts at 1 60-m 

depth. 
12.41 18.17 3.5 Bodies being mined are small and irregularly shaped (average less 

than 12,000 t). 
12,00 18.05 3.5 Do. 
NA NA NA No substantial reserves proven as of 1969. 

10.80 13.80 2.7 A "central "concentration of ore bodies occurring over 2,500 m strike 
1 2.60 1 4.05 2.9 length. At least 25 ore bodies mined up to 1 969. 

14.10 17.00 2.3 Large chromite bodies totaling several million t of disseminated, 
15.20 16.80 2.7 high-magnesia chromite grains. 

12.40 14.85 3.4 Zone 305 m long and 60 m wide, contains lenses 6 m thick. 



43.60 7.10 13.80 16.34 3.0 Zone 610 m long and 30 m wide, contains lenses up to 10 m thick. 

46.10 6.70 13.60 16.89 3.2 

NA NA NA NA NA No available Information. Not cost-evaluated. 

NA NA NA NA NA Do. 



NA Not available. 



Block operations, then estimates of 1 million and 3 
million t for the Selukwe District appear much too low 
(50, p. 40). 

Table 19 shows this study's estimate of demonstrated 
resource tonnages and grades for the Seluke District 
operations that are expected to make significant con- 
tributions to near-term production from the District. 
Also shown in this table are the geologic criteria used 
as the basis for the estimates. Because of the lack of 
up-to-date geologic information, especially in the cases 
of Magazine Hill, Ironsides, and Iron Ton, approxima- 
tions of geologic occurrence had to be made in order to 
estimate costs of production. It is probable that the 
estimated in situ demonstrated resource of 14,88 
million t of chromite (table 19), will eventually prove 
to be a somewhat conservative tonnage for the Selukwe 
District. However, since the demonstrated resource 
tonnage already utilized a high degree of inference, 
it was impossible to estimate an inferred-level re- 
source on a property-by-property basis based upon the 
available information. As was the case for the Great 



Dyke, there are many different estimates of chromite 
resources in the Selukwe District podiform deposits. 

It is reasonable to expect at least as many ore bodies 
of sizes used in developing table 19 to be present 
throughout the District. Nevertheless, the question 
of depleting podiform resources in the Selukwe Dis- 
trict is an important one to the Zimbabwe chromite 
industry. Ore from these deposits has consistently 
accounted for 40 pet or more of Zimbabwe's production 
because it is the cheapest material to produce, it is 
mostly lumpy material (slightly cheaper and easier to 
smelt), and it is generally higher grade (higher Cr:Fe 
ratio) than the Great Dyke seam deposits. On average, 
the demonstrated resource of 14.88 million t would last 
about 21 yr assuming a 90-pct mining recovery and 
the capacities shown in the mining section of this 
report. For comparison, the 76 million t of hypothetical 
resource would last about 129 yr using the same 
assumptions. The importance of the Selukwe podiform 
deposits to Zimbabwe's chromium industry lies with 
the added cost per ton of ferrochromium that would 



Table 19. — Estimated In situ chromite resource data for selected Selukwe District podiform deposits of Zimbabwe, as of 1980 

Demonstrated Weighted-average contained 
Operation-property resource, grade, ^, ^ ,-3, Criteria for tonnage estimates 

10=t pctCrjOj ^^2^3' ^" ' 

Railway Block 4,600 49.0 2,254 Two ore bodies with strike lengths of 31 m each, thicknesses of 1 3 m each and 

extensions downdip of 215 m. 
Selukwe Peak 6,900 46.5 3,208 Three ore bodies with strike lengths of 1 20 m, 320 m, and 200 m, thicknesses of 

20 m, 10 m, and 15 m, respectively, downdip extensions of 200 m. 
Valley Chrome 1 ,400 40.5 567 Published estimate of "several million tons" at start, minus estimated production 

from 1970 through 1979. 

Magazine Hill 660 49.0 326 Geologic "model" is 1 ore body 300 m on strike, 7 m thick, extending 80 m on dip. 

Iron Sides 660 45.0 300 Do. 

Iron Ton 660 45j0 300 Do. 

Total or average ... . 14,880 M6.5 6,955 NAp 

NAp Not applicable. 

^ Weighted-average in situ grade at the demonstrated level. 



result from replacing Selukwe podiform output with 
Great Dyke seam material, as will be shown in subse- 
quent sections. 

Belingwe Podiform Deposits 

The Belingwe podiform deposits are located about 
60 km south of the city of Belingwe. They were dis- 
covered sometime in the early to mid-1950's, and first 
production began in 1957 (31). By 1959, the District 
was producing 3 pet of Zimbabwe's chromite produc- 
tion. Because of its minor position in the Zimbabwe 
chromite industry and the generally sparse amount of 
information published during the last 20 yr on Zim- 
babwe, very few data are available on the geology, 
mining, production, or any other aspect of this Dis- 
trict. It is known that, as of 1978, at least two mines, 
Inyala and Rhonda, were in operation in the District 
(32) and that in the early 1970's a third operation, 
the Mlimo mine, was producing. 

The District is part of the Limpopo Schist Belt, 
also known as the Limpopo Mobile Belt or the Limpopo 
Metamorphic Belt. One description from 1959 (31) 
states that the chromium ore bodies occur within 
isolated, steeply dipping ultramafic "inclusions" in a 
granite country rock and that the ore bodies are 
separated within the ultramafic inclusions like "plums 
in a plum pudding." A second, more recent unpublished 
source^^ describes the occurrences only as small 
chromite lenses in a granulite gneiss environment. 
The vast majority of the chromitite available is of the 
hard, lumpy type although bodies of friable material 
are known. Indications are that the grade of Belingwe 
chromite ranges from 40 to 50 pet CrjOg with Cr:Fe 
ratios mostly <2.5. The Chamber of Mines article of 
1959 (31 ) listed two grades of products : a high-grade, 
hard, lumpy ore of 47 to 50 pet CrgO,, 14.7 pet FeO, 
12.5 pet AI2O3, and a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.7 to 3.0, and a 
low-grade, hard, lumpy ore of 45 to 50 pet CrgO-,, 
20 pet FeO, 15.2 pet Al^Og, and Cr :Fe ratios of 2 to 2.3. 

Rough estimates of podiform resources in the Bel- 
ingwe District are only available from two sources. 
An unpublished source^* estimated the tonnage at 1 
million tons, including 40 pet high-grade, lumpy 
material and 60 pet low-grade, lumpy material. Von 
Gruenewaldt (19) recently estimated a "hypothetical" 
resource figure of 13 million t for the Belingwe Dis- 
trict. As already stated in the discussion of Selukwe 
District podiform deposits, it is very difficult to esti- 
mate reserves and resources for podiform chromite 
deposits since ore at depth is only found in the course 
of underground development and exploration. Thus, 
there will be wide discrepancies in any estimate of 
chromite resources for a district containing podiform 
chromite deposits. 

Because of the lack of any detailed geologic data on 
the Belingwe District chromite deposits, it was neces- 
sary to construct models to analyze costs. For this 
study, it was assumed that there are at least three ore 
bodies present in the District, with dimensions com- 
parable to an average-sized ore body in the Selukwe 



" Confidential source. 
"Confldential source. 



District. Thus, the model consists of three separate 
ore bodies, each with strike lengths of 300 m, thick- 
nesses of 7 m, and extensions downdip for 80 m. The 
total in situ tonnage contained in the three model ore 
bodies would be about 2 million t (double the unpub- 
lished source's estimate but only 15 pet of Von 
Gruenewaldt's hjrpothetical resource estimate) at an 
average grade of 48 pet containing approximately 
904,000 t of Cr^O;,. It is assumed for analysis that this 
demonstrated, in situ resource of 2 million t would 
consist of 50 pet hard, lumpy ore and 50 pet of fines or 
lower grade material that should be beneficiated by 
gravity methods. 

At the total estimated production capacity for all 
operations in the District of about 30,000 t of ore, the 
demonstrated resource of 2 million t should last for 
60 yr. However, this result is based on rough estimates 
and should be further enhanced by future data col- 
lection. 

Eluvial Chromite Deposits 

For years in Zimbabwe, residual deposits of chromite 
grains in soil were viewed as a possible source of 
chromite production. The first attempts at production 
from soils were begun in the early 1950's, and for a 
5-yr period (1952-56) declared output of chromite 
concentrate from eluvial deposits was 103,000 t (25) . 
By the late 1950's three plants in operation in the area 
north of Mtoroshangu Pass were treating chromite 
soils using a magnetic separation-flotation process. 
However, by 1976 only one plant was still in operation, 
Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Co.'s Impinge plant, 
and the flotation process had been abandoned. 

The eluvial deposits are residual concentrations of 
chromite grains in soils resulting from the weathering 
of the chromite seams and surrounding rocks. The 
residual concentrations tend to be best in flat, poorly 
drained areas in the most mountainous (elevated) 
areas along the Great Dyke. The soils consist mostly of 
chromite, magnetite, and hematite with average chro- 
mite grain sizes of 0.2 to 0.3 mm. The process of resi- 
dual concentration results in overall lower Cr:Fe ratios 
than would be found in the parent chromite seams. 
This occurs because the overall iron content in the 
soil is higher and it is difficult in processing to com- 
pletely eliminate the additional iron. Because of this, 
the best chromite soils deposits from a resource grade 
standpoint will be those derived from seams with Cr: 
Fe ratios >2.8 (essentially seams 4-11 on the Great 
Dyke) . 

All of the producing operations so far have been 
located within the section of the Great Dyke from 
Mtoroshangu Pass northwards to the Gurungwe Fault 
in the Hartley Complex, which Worst (25) considered 
the best area. 

The sole operating mine in 1976 reported that the 
soil thickness at their operation varied from 0.12 to 
1.8 m thick with an average of 0.45 (33) and that 
95 pet of the recoverable chromite was in the minus 
0.5-mm soil fraction with the remainder in the form 
of pebbles in coarser material near the parent seams. 
Based on published production rates and assumed 
grades of concentrates and mill recovery, it is esti- 



36 



mated that the average feed grade of soil to the plant 
was 20 pet Cr^Oa with ranges probably from 10 pet to 
40 pet. 

Only one estimate of eluvial chromite resources in 
Zimbabwe is available — that made by Von Gruenewaldt 
in 1981 (19). He estimates a total of 54 million tons, 
which presumably is the tonnage of soil available. 
The criteria behind the estimate are not known. A 
comprehensive, detailed survey of suitable eluvial de- 
posits along the entire Great Dyke is not known to 
have ever been conducted. Thus, the 54 million ton 
resource estimate is not "locatable." Because of that, 
it was decided that the demonstrated resource of 
eluvial chromite soil in Zimbabwe to be cost evaluated 
in this study, should consist solely of those operations 
known to be recently in production. Hence, the Zim- 
babwe Mining and Smelting Co.'s Impinge operation is 
the only eluvial operation evaluated in this study as 
constituting a "demonstrated resource." 

The demonstrated resource of eluvial soil remaining 
as of 1980 for this property is estimated to be around 
4.7 million t at an average grade of 20 pet CrgO., with 
a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.2 and containing approximately 
950,000 t of CrgOg. The resource tonnage was estimated 
based on the assumption that mineralization of appro- 
priate thickness (average of 0.45 m) is found over 
800 ha of area, utilizing a tonnage factor of 2.3 t/cu 
m and includes subtractions of an estimated 3.6 mil- 
lion t of soil extracted from 1968 through 1979. The 
demonstrated resource tonnage would have an approxi- 
mate production life of nearly 16 yr at a production 
rate of 300,000 tpy of soil treated (50,000 tpy of con- 
centrate produced) and would result in approximate 
total production of 830,000 t of concentrates. 

It is highly probable that as much as 54 million t 
of eluvial chromite soil exists throughout the 300,000- 
ha area covered by the Great Dyke. However, even 
this large a tonnage would only produce about 9.5 
million t of concentrates, and the economics of this 
total tonnage are impossible to analyze without 
the ability to specify the exact areas where it occurs 
or details of occurrence specific to that location. 

In summarizing the eluvial chromite resources in 
Zimbabwe, three points should be stressed. First, the 
technology for extraction and production of market- 
able concentrates does exist. Second, there are too 
many operational unknowns to determine whether 
economic production of concentrates from the hypo- 
thetical 54-rnillion-t resource is possible. Third, a 
comprehensive and detailed survey of the Great Dyke 
area must be accomplished before attempting to esti- 
mate the total chromite resources that would be avail- 
able from eluvial chromite soils in Zimbabwe. 

Table 20 and figure 18 summarize the in situ 
demonstrated and identified resources of chromite- 
bearing material in Zimbabwe estimated according to 
the criteria of this study. The in situ demonstrated 
resource tonnage of 740 million t is comprised of 97 
pet from seam deposits on the Great Dyke, 2.3 pet from 
podiform deposits in the Belingwe, Mashaba, and 
Selukwe districts, and 0.7 pet from eluvial chromite 
soils. Of the total in situ identified resource tonnage 
of 4.574 billion t, fully 97 pet is also from the seam 
deposits on the Great Dyke. 



Table 20. — Summary: in situ demonstrated and identified 
resources of chromite in Zimbabwe, by type of deposit 

Weighted- Contained Identified 
Demonstrated average grade, CrjOg, resource,' 
Type of deposit resource, 1 0^ t pet CRjOj 1 0' t 1 0^ t 

Seam deposits, 
Great Dyke: 

Costed ^175,000 49.0 85,520 ^1, 195,000 

Not costed "543.000 49.0 266,111 ^,228,000 

Total. 

Podiform deposits: 
Selukwe .... 
Belingwe . . . 
Mashaba . . . 

Total 

Eluvial chromite 
soils 

Total, or 
average, all 
deposit types... 740,000 49.0 360,620 4,574,000 

' Identified tonnage equals demonstrated plus inferred tonnage. 

^ Calculated for producers or recent producing sections only to a downdip 
extension of 300 m. 

^Calculated for producers or recent producing sections to downdip 
extensions of tietween 300 and 2,000 m. 

* Calculated for all other sections not in recent production to a downdip 
extension of 300 m. Not cost evaluated. 

'Calculated for all other sections not in recent production to downdip 
extensions of between 300 and 2,000 m. 

8 Von Gruenewaldt (J9). 

^Unpublished (confidential source) — not cost evaluated in the study; 
production effect basically nil. 

° Estimated for the study; see text for description. 



718.000 


49.0 


351.631 


4,423,000 


14.900 

2.00C 

' 400 


46.5 
48.0 
45.0 


6,955 
904 
180 


«76,000 
M 3,000 
6 8,000 


17,300 


46.5 


8,039 


97.000 


8 4,700 


20.0 


950 


'54,000 




Demonstrated resource 
740xl06t 

Figure 18. — Distribution of demonstrated resource 
level, by type of occurrence, In Zimbabwe. 



MINING 

Mining of chromite ore in Zimbabwe consists of 
three major types — underground resue mining of seam 
deposits on the Great Dyke, underground sublevel 
stoping of podiform deposits, and surface mining of 
the eluvial-type deposits. Each type is discussed sep- 
arately in the following sections. 

Great Dyke Seam Deposit 
Mining — Resue Mining 

By the mid to late 1940*s, mining of chromium seams 
on the Great Dyke had progressed, by necessity, from 



37 



"pig-rooting" (surface mining of seams along outcrop 
to shallow depths) to underground methods. The basic 
underground mining method now in use is called 
"resuing". In this method, a stoping width (vertical 
height) of 0.9 m is usually established. From 0.1 to 
0.30 m of this width will consist of the chromite seam, 
with the remainder pyroxenite or serpentinite waste 
rock. Blast holes are usually drilled with electric "coal" 
drills (less often with jackhammers) . The blast holes 
are put into the relatively soft waste rock at sufficient 
distances from the chromite seam so that the seam 
will not be disturbed by blasting. After blasting, the 
waste rock is removed from the stope by hand-lashing. 
As much of the waste as possible is packed into stoped- 
out areas for support, and the remainder is wheeled 
or scraped, then railed and hoisted to the surface. 
After all of the waste has been removed from above 
the chromite seam, crowbars, hammers and chisels, 
pneumatic drills, or even light blasting are used to 
remove the chromite seam. Where the ore is friable 
and the seam is not "frozen" to the footwall, the 
chromite seam can be lifted out using only crowbars, 
hammers and chisels, or even by hand. This tjT)e of 
occurrence is the case in the majority of seams. The 
ore is next transferred to footwall drives, either by 
box-type winch scrapers or by wheelbarrow, while 
haulage in footwall drives to the shafts is usually by 
small electric or diesel locomotives hauling 3- to 4-t 
cars. It should be noted that modifications to the basic 
resue mining system are constantly being made and 
vary from mine to mine. 

This study assumes no dilution and mining recover- 
ies in the range of 85 to 90 pet. In actual operations, 
great care is taken throughout the mining process to 
minimize the effect of dilution from serpentinite or 
pyroxenite waste rock. Scrapers, railcars, and skips 
are carefully cleaned after use in transporting waste, 
and scraper paths are swept clean after waste scraping 
and prior to ore scraping. Reported mine recoveries 
have ranged from 75 to 95 pet. Losses occur mostly 
through ore left in support pillars that are not re- 
claimed. The highest recoveries are attained with 
methods that include reclaiming of support pillars 
with consequent total filling with waste rock. 

As of 1975, a rule-of-thumb estimate for resue min- 
ing was that in order to produce 1 t of salable chro- 
mium ore, about 3.7 t of waste and 1 t of ore would 
have to be hoisted to the surface (Si). In addition, 
1.9 t of waste would have to be packed back into the 
stopes if standards of the 1950's (35) , in terms of the 
percentage of waste hoisted versus the percentage of 
waste packed, still applied. With the trend being to 
improve support by completely filling stoped-out areas 
with waste, it is not unreasonable to expect that 
at least 50 pet of the total waste rock broken now goes 
into support, with the remainder needing to be hoisted 
to the surface. This analysis assumes that in operations 
where the chromite seam thickness is 0.10 to 0.15 m, 
50 pet of waste is packed and 50 pet is hoisted, chang- 
ing to 60 pet packed and 40 pet hoisted for mining of 
seams with thicknesses in the 0.20 to 0.25-m range. It 
should be noted that at no time in the history of 
chromite mining on the Great Dyke have seams with 
thicknesses of 0.05 m or less been mined underground 



for a significant length of time and that none of the 
seams herein analyzed are that thin. 

In areas of high relief, generally north of Mtoro- 
shangu Pass, access is mostly by adits in combination 
with internal inclined shafts (36), while mines in low 
relief areas, generally south of Mtoroshangu Pass, 
must utilize inclined shafts for access. Adit entry has 
several advantages over inclined shaft entry in addi- 
tion to the initial development costs being less. Adits 
provide self -drainage for the workings during the wet 
season, whereas inclined shaft systems generally re- 
quire pumping. Ventilation is also less costly and less 
complex with adits, and it is also possible at some 
operations north of Mtoroshangu Pass to mine more 
than one seam from one basic access, although this is 
the exception rather than the rule along the Great 
Dyke. 

Although there have been a few small vertical shafts 
sunk for operations on the Great Dyke, generally, 
vertical shafts are not chosen for initial mining (less 
than 200 to 300 m on dip) because there is a lead time 
before obtaining production, while an inclined shaft 
system can provide immediate production, essentially 
simultaneous with development. 

Capacities of individual inclined shaft systems 
range from about 10,000 to 30,000 tpy of crude ore, 
while individual adit systems are estimated to have 
capacities of 10,000 to 20,000 tpy of crude ore. Capa- 
cities higher than 30,000 tpy of ore are not utilized 
for two reasons. Chromium ore is a product that suf- 
fers from markets that are often unfavorable, so that 
high capital cost layouts are not recommended unless 
there is a sure market at all times (Si) ; and an 
operation producing 60,000 tpy of ore will mine out a 
block of nearly 12 ha in a year, which equates to an 
advance downdip of about 130 m/yr for one inclined 
shaft system, and is an excessively high extraction 
rate. 

Because of the many variations possible, it was 
necessary to construct several mining models to esti- 
mate costs for economic analysis. The models used, 
and associated capital and operating cost estimates 
for the mining units, are shown in table 21. Six 
inclined shaft models with capacities ranging from 
10,000 to 30,000 tpy of crude ore and two adit 
models with capacities of 10,000 to 20,000 tpy of crude 
ore were utilized. Each unit is intended to service 
1,000 m of strike length to a downdip depth of 300 m. 
The assumption was made that at no point can two 
seams be mined from a single access unit. Thus, when 
the 300 m limit is reached, a totally new access system 
must be developed to mine another seam or to mine the 
same seam for a second 1,000 m strike length. Ex- 
ploration costs prior to development are not shown in 
table 21 because they were assumed to be negligible, 
consisting of examination and sampling of "pig- 
rooted" outcrops to determine if the width of the seam 
is consistent over at least 650 m of strike length. 

As shown in table 21, capital cost requirements are 
very low. Mine equipment costs range from $200,000 
to $600,000, while mine plant costs range from $500,000 
to $1.1 million in 1981 U.S. dollars. The total cost for 
development of a 300,000 sq m block is estimated to 
range from $1.4 million to $1.8 million. In general, 



38 



Table 21. — Capital and operating cost estimates; generic mining models of Great Dyke seam mines 



Mining model description^ 



Capital costs (thousand 1981 U.S. dollars) 



Access method ^fP^'J'' °Shaaref Mine equipment Mine plant 



Mine operating cost (per metric ton of ore) by seam thicl<ness 



0.25 m 



Inclined shaft: 
Dip > 23° 
Dip < 23° 
Dip > 23° 
Dip < 23° 
Dip > 23° 
Dip < 23° 

Adit 

Adit 



$1,800 
1,600 
1,800 
1,600 
1,800 
1,600 
1,400 
1,500 



$200 
200 
400 
400 
600 
600 
200 
400 



$500 
500 
700 
700 
1,100 
1,100 
500 
500 



$91.0 
91.0 
96.0 
96.0 
78.0 
78.0 
86.0 
77.0 



$68.0 
68.0 
72.0 
72.0 
59.0 
59.0 
65.0 
58.0 



$56.0 
56.0 
59.0 
59.0 
48.0 
48.0 
52.0 
51.0 



Mining method: advance-retreat resuing (scrapers). 



Table 22. — Comparison of mining cost differences due to changes In seam thickness 

Seam thicl<ness m.... 0.10 0.125 0.15 0.20 



Ore hoisted 10^ tpy. 

Waste packed 10^ tpy . 

Waste hoisted 10^ tpy . 

Advance or retreat m/yr. 

Underground laborers 

Supervisory personnel 

Productivity, t per worker-shift: 

Underground 

Overall 

Labor pet total cost. 

Estimated mining cost (1981 U.S. dollars) $/t ore. 



12 


12 


12 


12 


12 


12 


46 


36 


29 


24 


20 


15 


46 


36 


29 


16 


13 


10 


140 


110 


95 


70 


60 


50 


105 


84 


70 


52 


45 


38 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


0.38 


0.47 


0.57 


0.76 


0.89 


1.00 


0.24 


0.31 


0.37 


0.49 


0.57 


0.68 


41 


41 


40 


37 


37 


39 


$91.00 


$79.00 


$68.00 


$62.00 


$56.00 


$48.00 



bringing a 20,000-tpy inclined shaft system into full 
production should cost about $2.5 million and it should 
have a mining life of 7 to 10 yr, depending upon the 
thickness of the seam. 

Assuming that the operations are mining the same 
thickness of seam (0.10 m for example), operating 
costs for resue mining vary about 20 pet depending 
upon capacity and access method. The cheapest opera- 
tions would be high-capacity (30,000 tpy) inclined 
shaft systems and high-capacity (20,000 tpy) adit- 
access systems estimated at $78/t and $77/t, respec- 
tively. The most expensive operation, with an estimated 
mine operating cost of $96/t, is a 20,000-tpy inclined- 
shaft system mining a 0.10-m seam. The same relation- 
ship applies for mining of 0.15- and 0.25-m-thick 
seams, although the overall mine operating costs are 
significantly less, averaging 25 pet less expensive for 
a 0.15-m thick seam and about 40 pet less expensive 
for mining a 0.25-m-thick seam. 

The indication then, is that crude ore mine operating 
costs (including on-seam development) are most sensi- 
tive to the thickness of the seam being mined. This is 
demonstrated by the data shown in table 22, which 
compares technical and cost differences based on 
hypothetical operations of the same 12,000-tpy capa- 
city, mining seams with thicknesses of 0.10, 0.125, 
0.15, 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30 m. Assuming that all other 
factors are the same, an increase in seam thickness 
from 0.10 to 0.15 m for example, will decrease the 
required stope face advance-retreat by 32 pct/yr, 
while maintaining the same amount of production. 
Underground stoping productivity would increase 50 
pet, while overall productivity (surface plus under- 
ground employees) would increase 55 pet. However, 
since labor constitutes only 40 pet of the total, mine 
operating cost would decrease by only 25 pet. An 



increase in seam thickness to 0.30 m on the other 
hand, would result in a 48-pet decrease in mine operat- 
ing cost. 

As a percentage of total crude ore mine operating 
cost, labor costs (direct and indirect) account for 40 
to 45 pet, materials and supplies for 30 to 35 pet, and 
equipment operation for 20 to 30 pet for the resuing 
method. 

Podiform Deposits — Sublevel Stoping 

In the Selukwe District, mining of podiform deposits 
has involved many different methods over the years, 
including surface pitting, top-slicing, shrinkage stop- 
ing, cut-and-fill stoping, modified square-set stoping, 
and sublevel stoping. Presently, smaller lenses (as- 
sumed to be any lens with <100,000 t of in situ re- 
source) are mined using shrinkage or cut-and-fill 
methods, while larger lenses (> 100,000 t of in situ 
resource) employ the larger scale, lower cost sublevel 
stoping method. Since all of the Selukwe and Belingwe 
podiform demonstrated resources evaluated in this 
study are assumed to be contained in lenses (ore 
bodies) with > 100,000 t of ore the only mining method 
utilized in this analysis is the large scale, sublevel 
stoping method. 

Over the years, access methods in the Selukwe 
District have involved many combinations of adits, 
vertical shafts, and inclined shafts. In general, deeper 
levels are accessed with high-capacity vertical shafts, 
while near-surface levels utilize numerous adits if the 
topography allows it. Each of these main access sys- 
tems also uses internal inclined shafts (winzes) for 
subsequent development, depending upon the circum- 
stances encountered. 

The sublevel stoping method is basically a caving 



method. It requires driving of a main haulageway 
from the adit or shaft connecting with subordinate 
haulage drives running parallel to the long axis of the 
ore body (lens) to be mined. Main haulage levels are 
usually established at 50- to 60-m vertical intervals, 
while sublevels are established approximately every 
12 m. Haulage cross cuts are driven along the short 
axis of the ore body at about 10-m intervals and ore 
pass raises with cone shapes of 10 m diameters are 
established from the haulage cross cuts to a sill level 
7.5 m above the cross cut. Long-hole drilling proceeds 
from benches cut on each sub-level, with the lower 
level stope in advance of the next highest. Broken ore 
is loaded directly from ore pass chutes into rail cars 
pulled by battery locomotives. The ore is delivered to 
underground grizzleys which at Selukwe Peak are set 
at 150 mm. Little support is required and mine re- 
coveries are high, estimated to average 90 pet; how- 
ever, there is little control over the grade of ore being 
mined. Underground mining productivities are high 
relative to many other chromite mining operations 
around the world, estimated to be about 2 t of ore per 
underground workershift. Overall productivity (sur- 
face plus underground laborers) is somewhat lower, 
at 1.33 t per workershift. These productivities are more 
than 3 times higher than those attained in Great Dyke 
seam mining, and the advantage shows up in much 
lower crude ore mine operating costs, around 66 pet 
lower on average. 

Estimated crude ore mine operating costs for the 
Selukwe podiform operations range from $18.70/t to 
$28/t of ore. Of these costs, about 30 to 35 pet repre- 
sents labor costs, 50 to 55 pet is composed of materials 
and supplies, and only 15 pet is attributable to equip- 
ment operation. 

Mine equipment replacement costs are estimated to 
range from $10/t to $17/t of annual crude ore capa- 
city. Mine plant replacement costs are estimated to 
range from $29/t to $55/t of annual crude ore capa- 
city. In general, a 30,000-tpy, sublevel stoping, podi- 
form mining operation in Zimbabwe should cost about 
$2.5 million to bring into production, assuming that 
the ore body is at a depth of 100 to 150 m below the 
surface and is accessed by vertical shaft. 

Eluvial Soil Deposit — Level 
and Hillside Stripping 

The most recent description of the Impinge eluvial 
soil operation was given by Kimble {33) in 1976. The 
mining practice at that time consisted of pit sampling 
on a grid system to determine the quantity of soil and 
recoverable chromite content available in future bar- 
row pits. A mining schedule for various combinations 
of pits was then drawn up, based on keeping the grade 
of feed to the mill constant and the haulage distance 
from the various pits as consistent as possible on a 
ton-kilometer basis. The pits to be mined are delineated 
by surveying, and perimeters are scored by a road- 
grader. Drainage ditches are cut with a bulldozer, and 
the vegetation is either burned off or stripped with 
the grader. The soil, ranging in thickness from 0.12 
to 1.8 m thick (averaging 0.45 m), is bulldozed into 
windrows laid out on contours to prevent runoff of silt 



during the rainy season. The soil is then loaded by 
front-end loaders into 15-t-capacity dump trucks for 
haulage to the mill. It appears that the maximum haul 
distance involved is 4 km, with an average of 2 km. 
The soil is excavated until rubble or bedrock begins 
to show, at which time mining is halted. Rehabilitation 
consists of ripping the pit floor on contour to a depth 
of 0.3 m at 1-m intervals, constructing mounds of soil 
at 30 m intervals and reseeding. In 1976, all mining 
and transport of soil was done by contractors at the 
Impinge operation. The capacity of the operation was 
very flexible since the mill could handle anjrwhere from 
180,000 to 400,000 tpy of soil feed without any effect 
on costs or operations. This study's evaluation was 
made assuming a capacity of 300,000 tpy of soil feed, 
essentially halfway between the two extremes. Also, 
the analysis has been made as if the company had to 
make all capital investments and conducted its own 
mining rather than on a contractor basis. 

The estimated mine operating cost for the eluvial 
soil operation is $4.78 per ton of soil delivered to the 
mill. It is estimated that direct and indirect labor costs 
comprise 30 pet of the total cost, 64 pet is for equip- 
ment operation, and 6 pet for materials and supplies. 
Assuming a concentration ratio of 5.7 t of soil to 
produce 1 t of concentrate, the above mining cost 
represents a cost of $27.24/t of concentrate produced. 

Capital items for mining consist of exploration, 
mine equipment, and mine plant. It is estimated that 
a 25-ha block of soil would require about $450,000 for 
exploration and that a 300,000-tpy (of soil) operation 
would require about $2.3 million in mine plant and 
equipment capital costs. 



BENEFICIATION 
Great Dyke Seam Deposits 

Prior to 1950, the only beneficiation, other than 
hand-sorting, done on Zimbabwe chromite ores was 
gravity concentration at those few operations mining 
disseminated ore (,35) . By 1960, nearly half of the 34 
major operations described by Worst {25) had in- 
stalled gravity concentration plants to upgrade their 
products. 

Generally, high-grade ores (>50 pet CrjOg Cr:Fe =» 
3) do not need to be upgraded except for hand-sorting. 
This is the case for ores of either the hard, lumpy type 
or of the friable type. Gravity concentration is used 
solely to improve Cr^Os contents and, if possible, 
Cr:Fe ratios. For hard, lumpy ores of coarse chromite 
grain sizes (>8 mesh or 2.38 mm) hand-picking of 
waste or heavy-media separation are all that are 
required. However, heavy-media separation is very 
uncommon in Great Dyke seam operations. Friable 
chromite ores of fine chromite grain sizes (<8 mesh or 
2.38 mm) most often will be beneficiated by gravity 
methods because the material is already in a "fines" 
form and increasing the grade is not expensive or 
complex but could significantly improve marketability. 
However, as noted, if the grade of Cr20., and Cr:Fe 
ratio are high enough, it is not really necessary to 
beneficiate the friable material. 



40 



The hand-sorting process is self-explanatory and the 
heavy-media process will be described in the discussion 
of beneficiation methods for podiform deposits. The 
gravity-separation methods in use on the Great Dyke 
comprise various combinations of the following major 
operation : grizzly screening, crushing with jaw crush- 
ers or hammer mills, screening with vibratory or 
trommel screens, recrushing with small rod mills, 
classification and reclassification by hydraulic methods, 
gravity separation with jigs, spirals, and tables, and 
dewatering and desliming. All flowsheets include at 
least two stages of gravity separation, either jigging 
followed by tabling or spiral separation followed by 
tabling. For friable, fines material, liberation of chro- 
mite grains occurs at minus 8 mesh; however, strict 
control of sizes is needed throughout the process be- 
cause most of the chromite losses occur in slimes, 
hence the need for multiple-stage screening and classi- 
fication. 

Recoveries of CrgOa in gravity concentration are 
estimated to be in the range of 75 to 85 pet, while 
recoveries in hand-sorting should run to 100 pet. This 
study assumes 75 pet recovery of Cr203 for any ma- 
terial going through gravity separation and 100 pet 
where it is considered that only hand-sorting would be 
required. 

As noted in the geology and resources section, it is 
estimated that only about 10 pet of the total in situ, 
demonstrated resource analyzed for the Great Dyke 
sections-operations consists of hard, lumpy ore with 
the remainder as friable, fines material ; and that seam 
4 constitutes the greatest possible source for hard, 
lumpy material at depth. Because seams 1 and 2 have 
the lowest CrgO, grades (46 pet) and Cr:Fe ratios 
(1.4 to 2.3) of all seams on the Great Dyke (table 23), 
it was assumed that all sections-operations analyzed 
where those seams constituted the majority of the re- 
source would have to send 100 pet of their mined 
material through gravity concentration. Since seams 
9 and 10 have the highest Cr:Fe ratios, those proper- 
ties where seams 9 and 10 predominate were assumed 
to require beneficiation only by hand-sorting. Seams 
3 through 8 are intermediate to high in Cr203 content 
and Cr:Fe ratio, thus section-operations containing 
these seams predominantly were assumed to require a 
combination of hand-sorting and gravity separation. 

Table 23 summarizes estimated recoveries and bene- 
ficiation operating costs for these three categories. 
The entire output of chromite products (lump, fines, 
and concentrates) estimated to come from the 21 
properties cost evaluated for the Great Dyke have >50 
pet CrgO., and should have Cr:Fe ratios ranging from 
2.5 to 3.3. This is because all in situ ore below 50 pet 



Table 23. — Estimated beneficiation methods, recoveries, and 
operating costs, by category of Great Dyke seam 

Predominant Beneficiation CrjOj recovery, Operating cost, 

seam method pet $/t ore feed 

1 and 2 Gravity 75 2.50 

3 through 8 Gravity and hand 80-90 1.25-2.00 

sort. 

9 through 11 Hand sort 1 00 1 .00 



CrjOg has been assumed to undergo beneficiation by 
gravity methods. Of the total Zimbabwe chromite 
product output, it is estimated that roughly 10 pet 
would be in the form of lump ore and the remainder in 
the form of friable-fines ore or as concentrates. 

For purposes of analysis, a cost of $1 per ton of feed 
has been estimated for hand-sorting and includes the 
costs of screening, sorting of ore, and transport of 
waste. It is composed predominantly of labor costs, 
estimated to comprise 85 pet of the total cost, while 
materials and supplies account for only 5 pet, and 
equipment operation 10 pet of the total cost. Personnel 
requirements for hand-sorting are difficult to deter- 
mine. For this study it is estimated that a 12,000-tpy 
operation would require about 30 laborers for hand 
sorting of crude ore. 

The operating costs for a typical gravity-separation 
plant are estimated to be $2.50/t of ore feed. This 
typical gravity-separation plant requires crushing, 
grinding, screening and classification, and two-stage 
gravity separation with jigs and tables. It is composed 
of 45 pet labor costs, 28 pet materials and supplies 
costs, and 27 pet equipment operations costs. 

Capital costs for both extremes are relatively small. 
It is estimated that capital costs for a hand-sort 
operation plant should range from $10/t to $15/t of 
annual feed capacity and a typical gravity-separation 
plant should range from $14/t to $20/t of annual 
feed capacity. 

The technical assumptions of this study result in an 
overall concentration ratio for the 21 Great Dyke seam 
operations evaluated of 1.2 t of feed to product 1 t of 
chromite product (lump, fines, and concentrate). The 
overall weighted-average milling cost for all 21 opera- 
tions is $1.60/t of ore feed or $1.92/t of chromite 
product. The mill operating cost is an insignificant 
portion of the total mining plus milling cost since, on 
a chromite product basis, it represents only about 2 
to 4 pet of the total mining plus milling cost. 

Podiform Deposits 

According to the Chamber of Mines Journal of July 
1959 (31), three basic products were being produced 
from Selukwe podiform deposits in the late 1950's: 
(1) a high-grade, hard-lump ore of 47 to 48 pet Cr^Os 
and a Cr:Fe ratio of 3 to 3.2; (2) a refractory-grade, 
hard-lump ore of 38 to 40 pet CrgOg and a Cr:Fe ratio 
of 2.1 to 2.4; and (3) a low-grade, hard-lump ore of 
45 to 46 pet Cr^Og and a Cr:Fe ratio of 3 to 3.2. The 
same source listed two products from Belingwe podi- 
form deposits: (1) a high-grade, hard-lump ore at 47 
to 50 pet Cr^Og and a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.7 to 3.0 and (2) 
a "chemical-grade" ore of 45 to 50 pet Cr^Og and a 
Cr:Fe ratio of 2.0 to 2.3. 

Referring back to the discussion of Selukwe podi- 
form resources shows that of the six properties evalu- 
ated, five (Selukwe Peak, Railway Block, Magazine 
Hill, Ironsides, and Iron Ton) are estimated to have re- 
sources composed 80 pet of lumpy material with grain 
sizes ranging from 0.5 to 4 mm, and 20 pet of fines 
material with grain sizes ranging from 0.01 to 0.5 mm, 
while one (Valley Chrome) is composed entirely of the 



41 



fines material. Reference back to the discussion of 
Belingwe resources shows that this study assumes that 
50 pet of the demonstrated resource at Belingwe is 
hard, high-grade lump material and the other 50 pet 
is low-grade ore that would probably require bene- 
ficiation by gravity methods. For properties in the 
Selukwe District with 80 pet lump and 20 pet fines 
material, the beneficiation methods are hand-sorting 
and heavy-media separation for lump material, and 
gravity separation with spirals and tables for the fines 
material <0.5 mm in grain size. The Valley Chrome 
operation utilizes gravity separation with spirals and 
tables for all of its feed, while the Belingwe operations 
require only hand-sorting for 50 pet of their material 
and gravity separation with spirals and tables for the 
other 50 pet. 

It is not known exactly how many mills are present 
in each district, where they are located, or what the 
capacities are. There has been a mill situated near the 
Valley Chrome operation since the late 1950's and a 
heavy-media separation, gravity-separation process 
milling complex is located in the Selukwe District. 
The description of methods used at the Selukwe mill 
is that a minus 150-mm, plus 60-mm fraction is hand- 
sorted; a minus 60-mm, plus 6-mm fraction goes to a 
heavy-media separation plant (sink-float process) ; a 
minus 6-mm, plus 0.5-mm fraction goes to a heavy- 
media separation plant using cyclones, and the minus 
0.5-mm fraction goes to a gravity-separation section 
using spirals and tables to produce concentrates. The 
hand-sorting and heavy-media separation processes 
produce lump ore. The Magazine Hill, Iron Ton, and 
Ironsides operations that are proposed for production 
are assumed to require hand-sorting and screening of 
50 pet of the feed and two-stage gravity separation for 
the other 50 pet of feed. 

Estimated recoveries used for analysis are 100 pet 
for hand-sorting, 95 pet for heavy-media separation, 
and 80 pet for gravity separation. 

Mill operating costs are estimated at $3/t of ore 
feed for hand-sorting plus heavy-media separation, 
$2.50/t of ore feed for gravity separation with spirals 
and tables, and $l/t of ore feed for a simple hand-sort. 
For heavy-media separation plus hand-sorting, labor 
costs are estimated to make up 55 pet of the total cost, 
while 25 pet is for materials and supplies, and 20 pet 
is for equipment operation. 

The above recoveries and operating costs have been 
weight-averaged according to the proportions appro- 
priate for the property being evaluated. 

For economic analysis, the mill operating costs in- 
clude estimated costs for transport to what are 
assumed to be centralized mill complexes. The esti- 
mated transport costs for the seven podiform opera- 
tions analyzed ranged from $2/t to $3.25/t of ore feed. 
Thus, the costs for transport to the mills plus milling 
itself ranged from $4.95/t to $5.47/t of ore feed or 
$5.57/t to $6.19/t of ehromite product. On a product 
basis, this cost represents about 16 pet of the total 
mining plus milling cost for the podiform deposits. 

Estimated capital costs for a combination hand-sort 
heavy-media plant are estimated to be about $18/t of 
annual ore feed. 



Eluvial Deposits 

As of 1976, milling practice at the Impinge eluvial 
operation consisted of washing and screening (2 mm) , 
classification, screening, magnetic separation (wet), 
and gravity separation with jigs and spirals. There 
were five different stages of classification in the flow- 
sheet. The oversize material from initial screening 
(plus 2 mm "pebbles") was hand-sorted on a waste 
conveyor to produce about 5 pet of the recoverable 
ehromite. No concentrate grades or recovery values 
were given in the 1976 description (36) . It was men- 
tioned, however, that when operating on a 3-shift-per- 
day, 30-days-per-month basis (maximum capacity) 
that the mill could produce 6,000 t per month of con- 
centrates and, if required, could operate on a one-shift- 
per-day, 30-days-per-month basis (minimum capacity) 
to produce 2,500 t per month of concentrates. 

It is probable that the concentrate grade was at 
least 50 pet CrgOg and could have exceeded 52 pet or 
more. This study assumed a concentrate grade of 52 
pet CraOs for evaluation. Recovery for economic 
analysis was estimated to be very low at only 45 pet of 
the contained CrgO,. This low recovery was assumed 
for three reasons. First, concentration ratios for other 
soil operations of the 1960's were greater than 5 t of 
soil per ton of concentrate. Second, the process has as 
its overall aim the improvement of Cr:Fe ratios 
(through magnetic separation), which would probably 
result in greater loss of chromium along with iron. 
Third, the amount of slimes waste will be much larger 
than usual, resulting in more chances for loss of 
chromium. 

The operating cost for the eluvial soil operation is 
estimated to be $2.78/t of soil feed. Labor costs are 
estimated to comprise 45 pet of the total cost, while 
materials and supplies account for 30 pet, and equip- 
ment operation for 25 pet. Since no crushing or grind- 
ing is required, the operating cost is slightly less than 
would normally be expected for a magnetic-separation, 
gravity-separation plant. In 1976, Kimble (55) noted 
that the total operating cost remained static no 
matter at what capacity the mill was operaing. 

Because of the rather complex flowsheet, the esti- 
mated capital cost for a plant of this size (300,000 to 
400,000 tpy of soil) would be in the vicinity of $5 
million, relatively expensive for a ehromite beneficia- 
tion plant. 



CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

There are two major issues to be addressed when 
evaluating the availability of chromium from Zimbab- 
we. First, there is the issue of ehromite production 
from the podiform resources versus ehromite produc- 
tion from the seams of the Great Dyke. Secondly, there 
is the general issue of chromium available in the form 
of ehromite products versus chromium available in 
the form of ferrochromium products. This latter issue, 
dealt with in the section on ferrochromium availability, 
is of particular importance since it is the stated ob- 



42 



jective of the government to use all of its domestic 
chromite resources for the production of ferrochro- 
mium. This section discusses the relative cost and 
availability of chromite from the podiform and Great 
Dyke seam deposits. 

In 1980, Zimbabwe's total prodution of chromite ore 
and concentrates was about 550,000 t {37, p. 1147) . Of 
this, it is estimated that 50 pet came from operations 
in the Selukwe Podiform District, 45 pet from opera- 
tions working seams on the Great Dyke, and 5 pet from 
other operations. The 1980 production level repre- 
sented a 36-pct decrease from 1976 production of about 
860,000 (57, p. 1147). Aggregate production figures 
for 1981 show a further decline to around 500,000 t 
(55, p. 466). 

The two major producers of chromite and ferro- 
chromium are Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Co. 
(formerly African Chrome Mines and a subsidiary of 
Union Carbide of the United States) and Zimalloys 
(formerly Zimbabwe Alloys and before that Rhodall 
Ltd.). These two companies represent ownership of a 
majority of the operating chromite mines in Zimbab- 
we. During the past few years, there have been numer- 
ous, often contradictory, claims concerning current 
mining capacity and future expansion plans. However, 
as is the case with the mines of South Africa, actual 
mining capacity is not the issue; the operating mines 
or those temporarily closed can relatively easily and 
quite significantly increase mining and milling capa- 
city. The issue is one of demand for Zimbabwean 
chromite and the availability of sufficient factor inputs 
such as labor, transportation, and (for chromite 
smelted in-country) energy supplies. 

With this in mind, this study assumed that within 
a 3- to 4-yr period the mining operations evaluated 
could attain a crude ore production level of approxi- 
mately 1.4 million tpy, yielding a mill output of 
chromite products totaling approximately 1 million 
tpy. It must be stressed that these figures are similar 
to those given in the various informational sources 
addressing the issue of chromite mining capacity ex- 
pansion, are easily attainable given the extraordinary 
flexibility of the chromite industry, and are in keeping 
with announced ferrochromium smelting capacity ex- 
pansions. 

Table 24 lists the names, deposit types, annual crude 
ore and chromite product capacities, and estimates of 
the productive life of the recoverable demonstrated 
resources. Figure 15 shows the location of the opera- 
tions evaluated, railroad lines and transportation 
routes, and ferrochromium smelters. A few points con- 
cerning table 24 are evident. First, the major produc- 
ing podiform operations, Selukwe Peak and Railway 
Block, have very large capacities relative to the Great 
Dyke seam operations. These latter operations typic- 
ally range from 15,000 to 30,000 tpy of crude ore, with 
only 5 of the 21 operations in the 40,000- to 60,000-tpy 
range. These seam-mining capacities are quite small 
relative to the operations in South Africa, primarily 
because in Zimbabwe the chromium seams are much 
thinner than those of the Bushveld Complex. 

Given the relatively small capacities of the seam 
operations and the enormous availability of in situ 
chromite resources of the Great Dyke, the estimated 



Operation-section 


Crude ore 


Chromite 


Estimated life 




capacity, 


production 


of recoverable 




lO^t 


capacity, 


resources, yr 






10^1 


(1981 on) 



Table 24. — Estimated annual capacities of crude ore and 
chromite products from selected Zimbabwe chromite 
operations 

action 

Great Dyke seam: 

Glenapp-lvo 10 10 517 

Impinge 20 20 245 

Sutton-Rodcamp 36 34 343 

Vanad 42 39 76 

Caesar 42 39 67 

Crown-Divide North 20 18 141 

Glenapp-Hay-Noro 30 28 238 

Umvukwes area 60 46 145 

Ore Recovery Tribute 40 37 181 

Greenvale 20 18 245 

IVIaryland 20 18 254 

McGowan 15 13 357 

Divide 15 13 439 

Rutala 20 13 431 

Umsweswe 25 17 62 

Umsweswe-Bee 30 17 554 

Windsor- York-York West . . 20 18 561 

Bat Claims 15 10 368 

Cambrai 36 24 208 

Netherburn 48 32 234 

York 15 14 38 

Selukwe podiforms: 

Railway Block 160 139 25 

Selukwe Peak 190 169 32 

Valley Chrome 60 48 20 

f\/lagazine Hill 30 27 19 

Ironsides 30 27 19 

Iron Ton 30 27 19 

Belingwe Podiform: 27 23 62 

Eluvial: Impinge 300 53 15 

Total 1,406 991 (') 

' Average life of Great Dyke seam mining operations: 272 yr; average life of 
podiform mining operations: 28 yr. 



mine lives are very large indeed, with an average seam 
resource operation life of 272 yr. This compares to an 
average podiform resource life of only 28 yr and points 
to a very significant long-term change in store for the 
chromium industry of Zimbabwe. As mining pro- 
gresses into the next century, an increasing percentage 
of chromite output will have to come from the Great 
Dyke seam operations. 

Table 25 addresses the differences in mining, 
processing, and transportation costs for the two 
resource types, as well as total chromite availability. 
As is evident, mining costs for the podiform resources 
on a per-ton-of-chromite-product basis are markedly 
lower, by $55, or 65 pet on average, than for the Great 
Dyke seam operations. Milling costs are greater, but 
milling costs overall are an insignificant cost relative 
to mining and transportation expenses. As is expected, 
transportation costs are not significantly different. 
What is most striking in this cost comparison is the 
total delivered cost to the port of Beira, Mozambique, 
where the podiform operations can deliver a ton of 
product for less than just the weighted average mining 
cost of the Great Dyke seam operations. The podiform 
resource operations are very cost competitive relative 
to other high-grade chromite producers, such as 
Turkey, and are also competitive relative to the pro- 
ducers in South Africa. However, it is evident that 
Zimbabwe chromite production costs, overall, should 
increase with time as an increasing percentage of 



Table 25. — Weighted-average mining, beneflclatlon, and 

transportation cost estimates, per ton of product, for selected 

chromite operations In Zimbabwe 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 

Podlform Great Oyke Average 
operations seam 
operations 

Cost per metric ton: 

$29.50 $84.50 $79.00 

6.00 2.25 2.50 

Transportation: 

FOB Beira, Mozambique 28.00 27.50 27.50 

FOB Maputo, Mozambique NA NA 41 .00 

FOB Durban, South Africa NA NA 38.00 

FOB Port Elizabeth, South 

Africa NA NA 64.00 

Total: 

FOB Beira, Mozambique 63.50 1 14.25 109.00 

FOB Maputo, Mozambique ... NA NA 122.50 

FOB Durban, South Africa ... . NA NA 119.50 
FOB Port Elizabeth, South 

Africa NA NA 145.50 

Chromite potential' lO^t.. 12,683 111,467 NAp 

Shipping grade pet CrjOj . . 49.0 50.0 50.0 

NA Not available. 

NAp Not applicable. 

' Total chromite potential Is 124,150,000 1. 



production comes from the Great Dyke. As shown in 
figure 19, mining cost of product for the podiform 
operations at $29.50/t represents 46.5 pet of the total 
delivered cost to Beira, Mozambique. For the Great 
Dyke seam operations, the weighted-average mining 
cost of $84.50/t of product represents 74 pet of the 
total delivered cost. Therefore, as depleting podiform 
resource production is replaced with Great Dyke seam 
production, total chromite production costs will rise 
towards the level of the Great Dyke operations. In 
addition, since transportation costs for the seam 
operations represent only 24 pet of the total (as op- 
posed to 44 pet for the podiform operations), cost 
reductions in this area will have less of an effect on 
overall production costs as an increasing percentage of 
production comes from the Great Dyke. 

Also shown in table 25 are estimates of average 
transportation costs to other ports in Mozambique and 
South Africa (Zimbabwe is a land-locked country). 



These other ports are located at greater distance than 
Beira, hence their utilization is more costly. As will 
be discussed later, however, rail transportation and 
port facilities represent a major constraining factor 
on the further development of the chromium industry 
in Zimbabwe. 

The estimated costs (mining, processing, and trans- 
portation) and corresponding cumulative chromite 
availability estimates for the individual operations are 
shown graphically in figure 20. The very significant 
difference in production cost between the two resource 
types is again evident above a mining cost of $50/t of 
product, where the podiform resources stop and those 
of the Great Dyke seams begin. 

Total chromite product availability, from just the 
demonstrated resources that were evaluated, is. on the 
order of 12.6 million t for the podiform resources, 
the majority of which is contained within the Selukwe 
Peak and Railway Block operations, and approximately 
111.5 million t for the operations of the Great Dyke, 
for a total of 124.1 million t overall. This figure is both 
very large and very conservative, given that the dem- 
onstrated resource estimate used to derive this chro- 
mite product estimate was only on the order of 175 
million t. At a world consumption rate of 10.5 million 
tpy, this resource would satisfy all world requirements 
for 17 yr. The life of the podiform resource is limited 
most likely to at least 30 yr, assuming current capa- 
city-production rates, but further exploration and 
development could extend this resource life beyond 
the year 2015, although probably not on the same scale 
as today. There is basically no life limit to the Great 
Dyke seam resource; the Great Dyke is similar in 
this respect to the Bushveld Complex in that produc- 
tion will continue as long as there is a demand for 
mined chromium. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMiUM AVAILABILITY 

Zimbabwe currently has two ferrochromium smelt- 
ing facilities. The largest is located at Que Que and 
is owned by Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Co. The 




Podiform deposits 



Greot DyKe seam deposits 



Great Dyke eluviol deposit model 



Figure 19. — Percentage distribution between mining, milling, and transportation 
cost estimates (FOB Beira, Mozambique) for podiform, seam-type, and eluvlal chromite 
deposits, respectively. In Zimbabwe. 



44 




TOTAL RECOVERABLE CHROMITE, lO^t 

Figure 20. — Mining, milling, and transportation cost estimates (FOB Beira, Mozambique), and potential availability of chromite 
from selected operations In Zimbabwe. 



second, smaller facility is located at Gwelo, approxi- 
mately 50 km from the Que Que plant and is owned 
by Zimalloys. Both smelters are located on a main rail 
line and are in close proximity to the chromite mining 
operations. Table 26 provides pertinent data concern- 
ing current and proposed capacity and smelter prod- 
ucts. 

As was the case with mining capacity, plans for 
increasing smelting capacity have been announced, 
cancelled, and reannounced with regularity over the 
last few yr since independence. Although one cannot 

Table 26. — Ferrochromlum smelters, capacities, and products. 



Furnaces, MVA 


Furnace capacity, 


lO^t/yr 


Furnace product 




GWELO (160 X 


lO^t/yr)' 




7.5 


8 




Low-C ferrochromlum. 


8.5 


9 




Do. 


8.5 


9 




Do. 


17.5 


18 




Ferrosilicon chromium. 


17.5 


18 




Do. 


30.0 


50 




High-C ferrochromium. 


2 30.0 


50 




Do. 




QUE QUE (310 


< lO^t/yr) 




15.0 


22 




High-C ferrochromium. 


24.0 


37 




Do. 


24.0 


37 




Do. 


24.0 


37 




Do. 


24.0 


37 




Do. 


24.0 


37 




Do. 


2 30.0 


50 




Do. 


2 30.0 


50 




Do. 



' Expected capacity. 
^ Proposed for analysis. 



be certain as to the actual future capacity of the 
smelting industry, it is certain that expansion will 
take place given (1) the government's stated objective 
of smelting all chromite locally to ferrochromium 
products, (2) the trend observed elsewhere for down- 
stream processing stages (in this case ferrochromium) 
to be increasingly located near raw material sources, 
(3) the obvious advantage of utilizing scarce trans- 
portation and port facilities for the movement of a 
higher valued product (ferrochromium versus chro- 
mite), and (4) the positive developmental and foreign 
exchange benefits to be derived from further develop- 
ing and marketing greater value-added ferrochromium 
products as opposed to chromite products. With these 
factors in mind, this study assumed that smelting 
capacity at the two plants would be expanded to the 
proposed 160,000 tpy at Gwelo and to 310,000 tpy at 
Que Que. This represents something on the order of a 
50-pct expansion over current capacity. For the eco- 
nomic analysis, all chromite output was assumed to be 
smelted to a grade-A (>64 pet contained Cr), high-C 
ferrochromium product. 

All capital costs for the smelter expansions were 
prorated back to the company's chromite mines. It is 
estimated that the expansions should cost around 
$l,000/t of annual capacity. Because of the very high 
Cr:Fe ratios of Zimbabwe chromite, the grade of fer- 
rochromium products is very high, possibly the highest 
in the world, with typical grades ranging from 64 to 
72 pet contained Cr. Using a smelting recovery of 80 
pet gives an indicated consumption factor of 2.3 t of a 
52-pct Cr,03 chromite concentrate to produce 1 t of 



45 



high-C ferrochromium. Thus, the indicated total chro- 
mite consumption requirements at these expected 
smelting capacities by year N-|-2 or N-|-3 (1983 or 
1984 in this analysis) would be roughly on the order 
of 1 million t. Given that the estimated chromite 
product output by this time is estimated at approxi- 
mately 1 million t as well, it is obvious that there is 
little room for chromite exports from Zimbabwe in 
the near future. But this is in keeping with the basic 
plan of the government. 

In the smelting process, all fines material must be 
agglomerated either to briquets or pellets at the smel- 
ter to ensure efficient smelting. This practice is par- 
ticularly prudent at the Gwelo smelter, which utilizes 
100 pet Great Dyke material. The cost of briquetting 
is around $10/t to $15 /t of ferrochromium. The Que 
Que smelter, even though much of its feed material 
does not require briquetting, nonetheless faces its own 
problems in that its feed comes from a variety of 
sources. In 1980, the company was experimenting with 
blending five different chromite ores-concentrates and 
their power consumption increased from 3,900 to 
4,400 kWt/t of high-C ferrochromium. Of the raw ma- 
terials needed for ferrochromium smelting, only coal 
and coke for the Gwelo smelter are indicated as being 
imported from South Africa. Smelting costs are com- 
posed of about 28 pet for power costs, 12 pet for labor, 
29 pet for raw materials (reductants, fluxes, elec- 
trodes, etc.), 17 pet for supplies and maintenance, 



1- o <:3 

CO -a 

"S .20 

IS .15 

o ..Oh 



KEY 
15- pet rate of return 
0-pct rote of return 



TOTAL POTENTIAL FERROCHROMIUM, lO^t 

Figure 21. — Cost and potential availability estimates of 
high-carbon ferrochromium from selected chromite operations 

mr 



and 14 pet for overhead and indirect costs. These 
figures should be interpreted as averages. 

Figure 21 and supporting data in table 27 present 
the long-run average total cost estimates and cor- 
responding cumulative high-C ferrochromium tonnage 
potentially available from the demonstrated resources 
of the 29 operations evaluated in Zimbabwe. All cost 
estimates are on an FOB smelter basis. (Since ferro- 
chromium exports utilize numerous ports in Mozam- 
bique and South Africa, these costs were calculated on 
this basis to ensure comparability of operations). 
Transportation costs per pound of contained chromium 
to the ports of Mozambique and South Africa are esti- 
mated to range from $0.03 to $0.04 to Durban, South 
Africa, and $0.01 to $0.02 to Beira, Mozambique. The 
cost of transportation to the port of Durban compares 
favorably with that for the South African produers, 
on a per pound contained chromium basis, because a 
typical ton of ferrochromium produced in Zimbabwe 
contains 68 pet Cr whereas a typical ton of South 
African ferrochromium contains around 53 pet Cr or 
22 pet less Cr per ton of ferrochromium transported. 
This helps to offset the greater transportation dis- 
tances faced by Zimbabwean producers. 

The costs for all operations at the breakeven level 
range from $0.15/lb to $0.30 /lb ferrochromium, 
averaging $0.25 /lb, which equates to $0.37/lb con- 
tained Cr for a 68-pct ferroalloy product. At the 15-pct 
profitability level the costs range from $0.17/lb to 
$0.34 /lb ferrochromium, averaging $0.27/lb, which 
equate to $0.40/lb contained Cr. The narrow range be- 
tween the two average chromium cost estimates (i.e., 
$0.37 /lb and $0.40/lb) indicates that the chromium 
industry of Zimbabwe is a mature industry that has 
already recouped its major, historical capital invest- 
ments. Further, it can absorb the additional capital 
costs for mining, milling, and smelting expansions 
herein assumed and attain a 15-pt long-run profit- 
ability level with only a $0.03/lb Cr increase in selling 
price. _ 

The' well established, large-scale podiform operations 
in the Selukwe District are the least expensive sources 
for ferrochromium in the country. The other non- 
producing podiform operations also represent an avail- 
able low cost resource. Together the podiform re- 
sources have an estimated long-run average cost of 
$0.25/lb Cr at the break-even level, which is 35 pet 
less than that estimated for all Great Dyke seam 
operations. 

The Great Dyke material also represents an eco- 



Table 27. — Average total cost ranges per pound of contained chromium and corresponding ferrochromium availability, by resource 

type, for Zimbabwe 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 



Breakeven level 



Range 



Weighted 
average 



15-pct profitability level Total ferrochromiunn availability, 10^ t 



Great Dyke seam operations 

Podiform operations 

Eluvial soil model 

Total or weigfited average 

NAp Not applicable. 

' Weighted averages over all operations evaluated. 



$0.32-$0.43 

.22- .29 

.34 



$0.38 
.25 
.34 



$0.34-$0.50 

.25- .34 

.35 



48,789 

5,068 

240 



46 



nomic resource but at a higher cost relative to the 
podiform resoures. The long-run average cost estimate 
for all Great Dyke seam operations, at the breakeven 
level, is estimated to be $0.38/lb Cr. Thus, as the podi- 
form resources are depleted, ferrichromium produc- 
tion costs should begin to increase to the level of the 
Great Dyke resources. In constant 1981 dollars, this 
increase through time should approach 35 pet, overall. 

The eluvial soil operation model was estimated at 
$0.34/lb Cr. This seems to indicate that the estimated 
54 million t of eluvial soil material could provide a 
source of increased production in the future as the 
podiform resources are further exploited. However, 
this would require much additional exploration and 
delineation of reserves by location. The problem with 
the eluvial soil operations seems to be attaining a high 
enough level of reserves to give a reasonable life to a 
specific mill. 

The total high-C ferrochromium estimate of 54.1 
million t, not surprisingly, is enormous and a resource 
product of high quality. The figure represents 115 yr 
of full, expanded capacity production and itself repre- 
sents only a fraction of the ultimate potential for 
chromium-resource-based products available from Zim- 
babwe. The podiform operations account for 5.068 
million t or 9.3 pet of the total. The remaining 91 pet 
is available from the Great Dyke operations. 



CONSTRAINTS TO 
DEVELOPMENT 

Transportation and Porting Facilities 

In order to realize the very great potential dis- 
cussed above, two major bottlenecks need to be ad- 
dressed. The first is the availability of a sufficient 
transportation network and porting facilities. 

The greatest distances from mine and mill sites to 
ports for the countries studied are from the chromium 
mines of Zimbabwe. The greatest individual distances 
are encountered when shipping through the ports of 
Durban and Port Elizabeth in the Republic of South 
Africa. The distances range from approximately 1,500 
to 2,000 km to Durban and 1,700 to 2,200 km to Port 
Elizabeth. This includes both trucking and rail trans- 
port, with rail representing most of the distance. 

There is a distinct cost advantage when shipping 
from Zimbabwe through the port of Beira in Mozam- 
bique. The average cost of transporting chromite 
from all mines in Zimbabwe to this port is approxi- 
mately $ll/t (29 pet less) than the average cost to 
Durban and about $37/t (58 pet less) than the average 
cost to Port Elizabeth. However, Beira does not have 
sufficient capacity to handle all chromium exports in 
addition to other goods. Currently, Beira can only 
berth vessels up to 25,000 t. In addition, this analysis 
indicates that the cost to transport chromite to Ma- 
puto, Mozambique's other major port, averages slightly 
more (even though the distances are less) than the 
cost to transport chromite to Durban, South Africa. 
The difference of $3/t results from lower official rail 
costs within South Africa as opposed to those of Zim- 
babwe and Mozambique. The actual cost, of course, 



can vary from operation to operation and is certainly 
influenced by governmental trade policy (subsidies 
and/or tariffs) on the part of Mozambique, Zimbab\ve, 
or South Africa. 

Although both Beira and Maputo were relatively 
major ports prior to the latter half of the 1970's, they 
have both declined noticeably in terms of the amount 
of cargo handled. This was mainly precipitated by the 
closure of the rail lines from Zimbabwe during the 
civil war in 1976. In 1979, Maputo reportedly handled 
only 1.5 million t of cargo as compared to 13 million t 
in 1969 and currently can only berth vessels up to 
65,000 t (2ji, p. 53) . More recent estimates (23, p. 330) 
show Maputo handling only about 500,000 tpy with 
plans to raise this in the future to 3.3 million tpy. 
Since the lifting of sanctions in 1980, the port of 
Beira has reportedly been handling around 550,000 tpy 
(23, p. 330). In any event, given that the rail system 
of Zimbabwe handled somewhere around 12.5 million 
net tons in 1981 (23, p. 330), it is clear that South 
Africa remains the major route of exportation and 
importation. 

It has been reported that the government of Mo- 
zambique plans to spend $320 million to upgrade and 
improve the ports and rail lines in the country (24., 
p. 53). The timeframe and availability of the necessary 
funds are in doubt, however, and until these improve- 
ments are made the ports of Beira and Maputo will 
continue to play a minor role, relative to the ports of 
South Africa, in Zimbabwe's export trade. Meanwhile, 
the government of Zimbabwe has earmarked approxi- 
mately $140 million for equipment and electrification 
of the railways. It has also undertaken a project, 
backed by the World Bank, worth approximately $130 
million for upgrading the rail system in general (23, 
p. 330). The government's overall plan is to make 
Zimbabwe the transport hub for the black-ruled states 
of southern Africa, and it intends to switch its ex- 
ports to the ports of Mozambique from South Africa 
as soon as such a switch becomes technically feasible. 

Power Supplies 

The ferrochromium smelters are the largest con- 
sumers of electricity in the country, consuming at 
least 10 pet of total electric power generation. Cur- 
rently, 90 pet of electricity generation is hydroelectric- 
based, with around one-third imported from Zambia 
(24, p. 51). This import level should decrease in the 
future as Zambia's growth requirements consume a 
larger share of its total electric generation. When the 
smelting capacity expansions outlined above are in 
place (N-(-3 or N-|-4 yr) then ferrochromium's share 
of total electric generation would represent around 20 
to 25 pet of total country requirements assuming 1980- 
81 consumption for uses other than ferrochromium 
smelting remain constant. According to Shekarchi, it 
took approximately 600 to 750 million kWh of elec- 
tricity in 1980 to produce 150,000 t of ferrochromium 
(24, p. 51). At a capacity level of 470,000 tpy, a rough 
estimate indicates a need for 1.8 to 2.3 billion kWh. 
Thus the availability of sufficient electric supplies 
would be strained, and the expansions discussed above 
would depend heavily on expanding power supplies. 



47 



The Wankie I coal-fired generating plant, due to 
start up in 1983, and the Wankie II, due to start up in 
1986, will add about 1.3 billion kWh of electric power 
generation between them. Given Zimbabwe's large coal 
reserves, coal powered generators are a logical primary 
source of future power for the country. Additional 
hydroelectric power is another source, with the possi- 
bility of adding two generators to the Kariba South 
power station on the Zambezi River. Shekarchi (2^, 
p. 52) further estimates that, assuming a 10-pct 
growth rate for electricity demand and imports from 
Zambia declining to zero, by 1990 Zimbabwe could 
still face a consumption requirement shortfall of 5 
billion kWh. The resources for expanding electric sup- 
ply are there but the enormous cost and the time 
requirement pose the problems to overcome. 



THE MINERALS MARKETING 
CORPORATION OF ZIMBABWE 

In 1982, the government of Zimbabwe enacted legis- 
lation establishing a Minerals Marketing Corp. 
(MMC) (39, p. 61). Although the full intent of the 
agency will only be ascertained through examination of 
its future performance, it would appear that the intent 
is twofold. First, the MMC is granted authority to 
assume the function of marketing the products of the 
country's mining industry, with the exception of gold. 
This would mean either purchasing all mineral prod- 
uct output directly from the operating companies for 
resale to world markets or for internal consumption, or 
review and endorse or reject the privately arranged 
sales contracts. The companies will therefore probably 
have to make the agency privy to production and 
sales details. Seond, the agency has the authority to 
impose a sales commission. 

Among the reasons for establishment of the MMC 
is the concern within the government over alleged 
abuses of "transfer pricing", which is a means of over- 
invoicing or underinvoicing between local and foreign 
parent companies to avoid taxation and to transfer 
capital. There is also an element of governmental 
revenue raising involved, as well as the desire to more 
closely control and coordinate the mining industry 
within the context of the overall economic goals of the 
government, which, later on, should begin to seek to 
acquire an equity position within the industry. 

The long-term effect of governmental intervention 
in the mining industry of Zimbabwe via such func- 
tions as marketing, production control, or equity par- 
ticipation, for example, is beyond the scope of this 
report. However, one can address the long-term impact 
upon average production cost from imposition of a 
sales commission. 

The direct impact from imposition of any "add-on" 
cost, such as a sales tax (commission), is to either 
raise average production costs and therefore sales 
price, or lower company profits, or both. These costs 
are particularly burdensome in periods of oversupply 
or weak demand such as has been the case in recent 
years in the world chromium industry. 

The methodological approach taken in this analysis 
is to impose a 15-pct pretax sales commission on the 



total revenues generated per operation per year from 
the production of high-C ferrochromium. 

The current sales commission is probably not in 
excess of a few percent ; however, the sales commission 
was set at this potentially high level in order to 
address the maximum impact that such an add-on cost 
(or costs) might have on determining the ability of 
Zimbabwe's ferrochromium producers to remain com- 
petitive. It is not at all unlikely that this type of cost 
will increase in the future. 

It is assumed that all properties operate at full 
capacity throughout the productive life of the demon- 
strated resource tonnages identified for each property, 
and that all output is sold at that price (FOB the 
smelter), which will maintain a specified profitabil- 
ity level after covering total investment costs. The 
profitability level selected was the breakeven level. The 
results obtained from this analysis are then com- 
pared with those of the base case analysis presented 
earlier in order to isolate the total (cost = sales 
price) increase necessary to maintain a given level 
of profitability, and further, to show what the reduc- 
tion in ferrochromium availability would be at any 
given price-cost level. Of course, in times of falling 
world prices for ferrochromium, when it is not pos- 
sible for all producers to obtain the prices necessary 
to absorb the tax-cost increase, rates of return would 
fall. The purpose here is to identify only the increase 
in production cost and thus determine the effect upon 
the long-term competitiveness of Zimbabwe's ferro- 
chromium industry relative to other producing nations. 
It bears mentioning that since the sales commission 
is applied in this analysis as a pretax cost, its effect 
upon the determination of necessary price is less than 
if it were applied as an after-tax cost. 

The results of this analysis indicate clearly that the 
full imposition of a 15-pct sales commission would 
result in significant increases in necessary long-run 
sales prices for the industry to maintain a breakeven 
level of profitability. The difference between the cost 
increase for operations mining the seams on the 
Great Dyke as opposed to the podiform-type operations 
is illustrative. Table 28 provides cost estimates for the 
two resource types with and without the imposition 
of the MMC tax, herein assum.ed. This differential 
effect can also be seen in figure 22, which shows a 
greater upward shift in cost for the seam-type opera- 
tions of the Great Dyke. As shown, the imposition of 
the sales tax results in an average increase of $0.05 
per pound contained chromium for the operations min- 
ing Great Dyke seam deposits as opposed to an average 
$0.03/lb contained Cr increase (40 pet less) for those 
mining the podiform-type deposits in the Selukwe and 
Belingwe Districts. 



Table 28. — Weighted average breakeven cost estimates per 

pound of contained chromium In Zimbabwe, with and without a 

15-pct MMC sales commission 





All properties 


Great Dyke 
seams 


Off-Dyke 
podlfomntype 




$0.37 
.42 


$0.38 
.43 


$0.25 


MMC 


.28 


Difference 


.05 


.05 


.03 




10 20 30 40 50 60 

TOTAL POTENTIAL FERROCHROMIUM.IO^t 

Figure 22. — The effect of a 15-pct MMC sales commission 
upon the breakeven cost level estimates of high-carbon 
ferrochromlum production In Zimbabwe. 



The podiform-type deposits currently account for a 
large majority of Zimbabwe's chromium production. 
These properties are already very competitive and 
could conceivably absorb the total tax burden and still 
remain so. However, the total production life of these 
properties is very limited relative to the seams of the 
Great Dyke. It is this latter resource that will provide 
the long-term (beyond 30 yr) production potential for 
Zimbabwe ; and these properties, because they are more 
costly to develop and operate, would require signifi- 
cantly higher selling prices to absorb the additional 
tax burden. The differential effect upon the two types 
of operations should cause an increase in the com- 
petitive advantage of the podiform type over the 
Great Dyke seams and could result in more capital 
resources being devoted to their exploitation relative 
to the seams. Assuming that the podiform resource 
will last well into the next century, however, there 
would not appear to be any immediate, overall detri- 
mental effect upon Zimbabwe's competitiveness in the 
world chromium industry. 

A comparison with the properties of South Africa 
indicates that the advantage enjoyed by the South 
African ferrochromlum producers would be enhanced 
by the imposition of this tax. A comparison of break- 
even weighted average total costs, on a per pound of 
contained chromium basis (in order to compare the 
two properly) , shows a South African advantage rela- 
tive to all Zimbabwean producers (FOB the smelter) 
of $0.08/lb without the imposition of the sales com- 
mission. This advantage increases to $0.14/lb con- 
tained chromium with the tax imposed. The producing 



podiform operations in Zimbabwe, with imposition of 
the tax, have their $0.04/lb advantage effectively 
eliminated. These results are shown in table 29. 

A few caveats are in order. First, the overall advan- 
tage of South African producers is understated here 
because of the added transportation cost incurred by 
the Zimbabwe producers versus the South African. 
Some of the ferrochromlum produced in Zimbabwe 
must be routed through South African ports at a 
higher cost because of the inability of the ports of 
Mozambique to accommodate all output. Second, the 
producing podiform operations in Zimbabwe, even 
with the long-term increase in production costs from 
the imposition of this tax, are still lower cost produc- 
ers than those in Turkey, which directly competes with 
Zimbabwe for the sale of grade-A ferrochromlum. 
Finally, what is perhaps more significant for the 
long-term potential of the chromium industry in Zim- 
babwe is not the actual imposition of a sales tax but 
rather the existence of a government agency involved 
in the decisionmaking process of production, stockpil- 
ing, sales, and ownership of the industry — ^which could 
result in reduced private investment in the country. 
This effect, of course, is diflScult to quantify but un- 
certainly in business is a major consideration. 



SUMMARY 

A total of 175 million t of in situ demonstrated 
chromium-bearing resource was cost-evaluated. 
This resource is estimated to contain approxi- 
mately 124.2 million t of 50 pet CrgO, high-Cr 
chromite products in the form of lump and fines 
material. 

Of the total chromite tonnage analyzed, 12.7 mil- 
lion t (10 pet) is contained within the podiform 
operations and 111.5 million t (90 pet) is con- 
tained within the Great Dyke seam operations. 
Total high-C ferrochromlum potential is esti- 
mated at 54.1 million t, also split 10 pet to the 
podiform operations and 90 pet to the Great Dyke 
seam operations. 

Chromite production costs, as defined, were esti- 
mated at $63.50/lb and $114.25/lb, delivered to 
Beira, Mozambique, for the podiform and seam- 
type operations, respectively. 
High-C ferrochromlum production costs (as de- 
fined) were estimated (FOB the smelter) at 
$0.25/lb and $0.38/lb Cr at the breakeven cost 
level for the podiform and seam-type operations, 
respectively. 



Table 29. — Comparison of weighted-average production costs per pound of contained chromium at the breakeven level In South 
Africa versus Zimbabwe with the Imposition of a 15-pct sales commission 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 

Zimbabwe weighted-average production cost South African advantage or disadvantage' 

Base case Sales commission Base case Sales commission 

All properties $0.37 $0.43 (-) $0.08 (-)$0.14 

Great Dyke seams .38 .44 (-) .09 (-) .15 

Podiform type .25 .29 ( + ) .04 

' The negative sign ( - ) or positive sign ( + ) means that South African production is less than ( - ) or greater ttian ( + ) the cost determinations for Zimbabwe. 



Major implications are that chromite and ferro- 
chromium production costs should rise through 
time as the podiform resources are depleted and 
a greater percentage of production comes from the 
seam-type operations. In addition, large capital 
investments will be required to alleviate trans- 



portation and energy supply bottlenecks in order 
to realize the industry potential outlined above. 
Availability of chromite products for export 
should decline as the country's stated goal of 
utilizing 100 pet of its chromite for ferrochro- 
mium production is instituted. 



TURKEY 



GEOLOGY 
AND RESOURCES 

As shown in figure 23, ultramafic rock complexes in 
Turkey that have served, or could serve, as host rock 



for chromite deposits are widespread and numerous. 
Since approximately 23,000 sq km of area consist of 
ultramafic outcrops, it follows that the number of 
individual deposits and occurrences could be very large 
as well. Ethem (^0) states that chromite occurrences 



^jr^ 


r-L^fifT^. y s 






"» T ^ sJ*'' t» \ — ^ - n 


^ i 1'^ ■** ''. t W 


/ |i* ' ^v^ ^^5s;K 


y « \5^^^ 8 


{-j-J^ aI -5 i- 


E 


-W.,^: . :).- 




\ • s , <• / ^ o 




y^'^r^'^SiM •' 




LAI .\ ^'^^0^ 'I 


wC'r^/^ 


r 0^5 , 


( 1 * 



Figure 23. — Location of baslc-ultrabasic rock distribution, chromite mines, 
ferrochromlum smelters, and ports of exportation In Turkey. 



50 



Table 30. — Chromlte reserves of Turkey, 1972 Turkish government estimates 



Deposit'-Operation 



District 



Province 



Reserve tonnage, 10^ t 



Proven 


Probable 


Possible 


Total 


3,767 


1,126 


15,000 


19.893 


5,949 


552 


NA 


6,501 


950 


1,050 


NA 


2,000 


652 


876 


NA 


1,528 


605 


411 


383 


1,400 


NA 


NA 


800 


800 


NA 


NA 


640 


640 


NA 


NA 


556 


556 


NA 


NA 


410 


410 


105 


185 


40 


330 


202 


NA 


NA 


202 


34 


61 


42 


139 


60 


40 


NA 


100 


NA 


NA 


NA 


1,817 



Kefdag* 

Soridag-Guleman* 

Kavak* 

Kopdag* 

Uckopru* 

Kandak* 

Akcabuk 



Yoruceler 

Sariova-Uzunoluk . . . 

Beydemir 

Mevlutler 

Mesebuku-Otmanlar . 

Others 

Total 



. Maden 

. . .do 

. Mihaliccik . 
.Tercan.... 
. Fethiye . . . 

.Ula 

. Orhaneli . . 
. Acipayam . 
. Orhaneli . . 



. Orhaneli . . 
. Acipayam . 
. Koycegiz. . 
. NA 



. Elazig . . . 

. ..do 

. Eskisehir. 
. Erzincan . 
. Mugia . . . 

. ..do 

. Bursa 

. Denizli . . . 
. Bursa. . . . 
.Denizli... 

. Bursa 

. Denizli . . . 
. MugIa . . . 
. NA 



NA Not available. 

' Asterisk indicates those operations subject to cost evaluation. 

Source: Kocaefe {42). 



can be found in 40 of the nation's 67 provinces. He 
lists 90 separate reg'ions or districts as having chromlte 
deposits or occurrences. 

In 1966 MTA, the government exploration agency, 
in an attempt to describe all known chromite deposits 
or occurrences, reported on over 330 deposits or 
deposit groups Ul). This report stated that, "in- 
formation on most of these deposits is incomplete and 
only in a few cases could a detailed description be 
given." In 1972, MTA released estimates of chromite 
reserves in Turkey U2). As shown in table 30, six 
individual operations — the Kefdag, Soridag, and Uck- 
opru operations of Etibank and the Kandak, Kavak, 
and Kopdag operations of various private owners — 
accounted for 96 pet of the proven plus probable re- 
source tonnage of 16.6 million t (roughly equivalent 
to the demonstrated level) and 89 pet of the proven 
plus probable plus possible resource tonnage of 36.3 
million t (roughly equivalent to the identified level) . 

For this study, the Bureau of Mines has concen- 
trated on determining the demonstrated resources of 
these six operations as of 1980. A seventh operation, 
Mesebuku-Otmanlar, was also investigated but was 
determined to have an insignificant resource level and 
therefore not subjected to complete cost analysis. The 
results are shown in table 31. The total demonstrated 
resource level, as of 1980, for these six operations is 
estimated to be approximately 11.7 million t of in situ 
material with an average grade of 38 pet Cr^Oa that 
represents 4.5 million t of contained CrgOg. These six 
operations represent the tonnage contained in only 25 
deposits or deposit groups out of the more than 300 
referenced by MTA nationwide. The identified resource 
level for these properties is the same as the demon- 
strated level precisely because of the lack of confidence 
in inferences based upon the sketchy data that is 
available on Turkish chromite deposits. The following 
discussion deals with each of the six properties sub- 
jected to complete cost evaluation. 

The Soridag group consists of 10 deposits, all within 
a 10.5-sq km area. The demonstrated resource of 2.7 
million t at a weighted average grade of 46 pet Cr^O,., 
represents the combined in situ tonnage of three major 
deposits within the group ; the Ayi Damar, Kapin, and 



Table 31 . — Estimated In situ chromlte resource data for 
selected Turkish operations as of 1980 

n-n«cif nnor..inn Demonstrated ^fL^.a!?' Contained^ 

Depos.t.operat,on ^^^^^^^. ^^ , ^^^ --age^^^^ cr.O, 10^ . 

Kefdag 5?ioO 3a0 1336 

Soridag 2,727 46.0 1,254 

Kavak 1,600 29.0 464 

Kopdag West-North Zone. . . 1,000 43.0 430 

Uckopru 850 40.0 340 

Kandak 353 46.0 162 

Mesebuku-Otmanlar M6 400 18 

Total or average 11.676 "38.0 4,500 

' Identified tonnage equals demonstrated plus inferred tonnage; in this case, 
there was insufficient information to support an inference beyond the 
demonstrated level. 

' Data may not add to totals shown due to averaging and independent 
rounding. 

^ Not cost evaluated. 

* Country grade is the in situ weighted average over all deposits at the 
demonstrated level. 



Uzun Damar deposits. An estimated 1.25 million t of 
CrjOg is contained within this tonnage. The three 
deposits are all of the planar-banded type with ore 
body thicknesses averaging about 3 m. The ore grades 
vary from 42 to 51 pet CrgOg with a weighted average 
of 46 pet and a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.9. In general, the 
deposits can be followed for long strike lengths, al- 
though interruptions by faults are common. 

The Kefdag group of deposits is located about 5 km 
southwest of the Soridag group. It consists of two 
deposits, Kefdag East and Kefdag West. They are also 
of the planar-banded type with two types of ore ; dis- 
seminated, low-grade material, and massive, high- 
grade material. The low-grade, disseminated ore 
grades in the range of 30 to 38 pet Cr^O,, averaging 
36 pet, and the massive, high-grade material averages 
about 38 pet CrgO.n. The demonstrated resource of the 
Kefdag group is estimated at 5.1 million t, approxi- 
mately 65 pet of which is disseminated, low-grade ore 
and 35 pet of which is massive, high-grade ore. This 
resource contains approximately 1.8 million t of con- 
tained Cr^O, with a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.9. The ore bodies 
strike northeast and dip to the south at Kefdag West 



51 



and to the north at Kefdag East. Dip is almost vertical 
at depth. 

The Kavak-Mihalliccik District is located on the 
crest and south flank of the Tastepe mountain range. 
This district consists of 21 separate ore bodies all 
located within a 1,000- by 500-m area. Three different 
structural types of ore bodies are present: pipelike or 
chimneylike ore bodies (Camasirlik I through V, 
Orta, and Yazlik) ; flow-type ore bodies (Ernler I 
through VI), and planar-banded ore bodies (numbers 
12-17) . The greatest potential lies in the chimneylike 
ore bodies Camasirlik II and III, which are presently 
being mined, and Camasirlik V. The ore itself is of the 
schlieren tyipe, grading 32 to 37 pet CrgO,, when not 
diluted. Below the 150 m level in the present under- 
ground mine, the contact between the dunite and 
chromite is not distinct so dilution of about 15 pet 
dunite is unavoidable. The demonstrated resource of 
1.6 million t represents ore at Camasirlik II and III 
above the 360-m level and assumes a dilution of 15 pet. 
The diluted grade averages 29 pet CrjO,,, and the two 
ore bodies combined contain an estimated 464,000 t of 
Cr^Os in situ at a Cr :Fe ratio of 3. 

The Kopdag-Askale chromite region is centered 
about 120 km south of the Black Sea port of Trabzon. 
It consists of three basic chromite districts, the most 
important of which appears to be the Kopdag West 
group located about 30 km northwest of the town of 
Tercan. Within the Kopdag West group, the north zone 
of occurrences is by far the more important of the 
two zones with at least 25 separate occurrences or 
deposits found along a 13-km east-northeast trend. 
Supposedly, the ore bodies are large, and it has been 
conjectured that some could extend to depths of 100 m. 
In 1965, a rough estimate was that the north zone could 
contain at least 1 million t of ore (41 ) . As shown in 
table 30, MTA's 1972 reserve estimate for Kopdag was 
652,000 t of proven and 876,000 t of probable ore. 
For this study, the 1980 demonstrated resource esti- 
mate for the 25 deposits in the Kopdag West north- 
zone area is set at 1 million t grading 43 pet and 
containing 430,000 t of Cr^Og. The Cr:Fe ratio ranges 
from 2.1 to 3. 

The Uuckopru operations and the Kandak mine are 
located within a large peridotite complex covering 
about 3,000 sq km in southwestern Turkey ; extending 
130 km from the Datca Peninsula to a point about 20 
km southeast of the port city of Fethiye. The Uckopru 
operations consist of two deposits ; Uckopru and Zim- 
paralik, located within 5 km of one another in an area 
about 40 km due north of Fethiye. The Kandak mine 
is located about 30 km east-southeast of the town of 
Mugla and 23 km due north of the town of Koycegiz. 

As mentioned, the demonstrated resource for the 
Uckopru operation consists of ore from two disparate 
ore bodies: Uckopru and Zimparalik. The Uckopru 
material is relatively high-grade, massive-type ore 
averaging 46 pet Cr^Og. The Zimparalik ore is low- 
grade, dissiminated-type ore averaging 34 pet CrjOs. 
The two ore bodies contain an estimated 850,000 t of 
in situ resource at the demonstrated level, with a 
weighted-average grade of 40 pet, containing about 
840,000 t of Cr^Oj. The Cr:Fe ratio runs about 3. 

The Kandak deposit occurs as an antiform plunging 



50° to 70° to the west. The north limb of the antiform 
is the important portion of the deposit as the south 
limb has been shown to die out at a down-limb depth 
of 40 to 50 m. Demonstrated resources are herein 
estimated to be about 353,000 t of ore, grading 44 to 
48 pet, containing approximately 162,000 t of CrjOg 
at a Cr:Fe ratio of 3. 

A summarization of two points is in order. First, 
the demonstrated resource of 11.7 million t that was 
cost evaluated represents the tonnage available from 
only 25 individual deposits being mined by just six 
operations. This is about 5 to 8 pet of the total chro- 
mite deposits, occurrences, or deposit groups that have 
been described in past literature. Second, the opera- 
tions in this study represent only about 70 to 80 pet 
of the country's total production ; the remaining 20 to 
30 pet is supplied by numerous small mines which are 
impossible to cost evaluate. There are still many pos- 
sibilities for discovery of new podiform deposits or 
rediscovery of old deposits, given that the country is 
covered by more than 23,000 sq km of ultramafic com- 
plexes. However, it is questionable whether enough of 
these discoveries could ever leave Turkey in the posi- 
tion of being able to significantly and rapidly increase 
production. Most operations mining a reasonably sized 
ore body of 50,000 to 100,000 t are very small capacity 
operations (probably averaging 12,000 tpy of mine 
output) and very labor intensive (around 0.5 to 0.75 
t of ore mined per worker-shift). 

To double estimated 1980 production of chromite 
products from 440,000 to 880,000 t would require about 
600,000 additional t of run-of-mine crude ore, which 
would entail 50 separate 12,000-tpy mining operations 
and approximately 3,000 to 4,000 additional mine 
laborers. Seemingly in recognition of this small-size- 
deposit problem, it is understood that MTA is investi- 
gating the possibility of mining and beneficiating 
large, very low-grade chromite bodies in the 5- to 
10-pct chromite range. The geologic potential in 
Turkey for such ore bodies is unknown at this time 
but is probably high considering the size of complexes 
available as hosts. However, much exploration and 
study remain to be done. 

MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

Except for a few small surface operations, the larg- 
est of which is probably the Mesebuku operation, all 
of the major chromite mining operations in Turkey 
utilize underground mining methods. The six major 
mines evaluated here are all underground operations. 
The three basic types of underground-mining tech- 
nology employed in Turkey are horizontal cut-and-fill, 
inclined cut-and-fill, and shrinkage stoping. The choice 
of method depends upon the strengths of the rock 
types and the thickness and inclinatiorf of the ore body. 
Labor productivity estimates for the various methods 
range from lows of 0.5 to 1 t per worker-shift in 
inclined cut-and-fill operations, to 1.2 in horizontal 
cut-and-fill operations, to the highest productivity of 
1.6 for the shrinkage stoping method. 

The percentage of mine operation costs per ton of 
crude ore that is represented by labor, ranges from 30 



52 



pet in the highest productivity mines to as much as 65 
pet in the lowest productivity mines. The cost of sup- 
plies ranges from 20 to 30 pet of the total mine operat- 
ing cost. Exploration and development costs directly 
attributable to day-to-day operations range from 
$1.50/t to $2.75/t of ore. Of importance is the fact 
that as much as 25 pet of total labor costs (5 to 15 pet 
of the total mine operating cost) can be attributed to 
the hand sorting of waste and various types of ore 
either underground or on the surface. 

The mine operators in Turkey are constantly look- 
ing to further mechanize the mines to improve pro- 
ductivity. An example of possible savings was given by 
Kromer in 1954 (iS). He lists "before and after" 
data for the introduction of mechanization at the old 
Basoren mine. After mechanization, productivity at 
this 15,000 tpy crude ore operation increased 83 pet 
from 0.35 to 0.65 t per worker-shift. The cost of labor, 
explosives, and other supplies decreased 42, 15, and 83 
pet, respectively. The overall effect was a 47-pet de- 
crease in direct mining costs. However, there are 
limits to mechanization in Turkish ehromite mines, 
mostly due to the need for sorting of ore from waste 
and the small thicknesses of the ore bodies (3 m or 
less). Only in ore bodies or ore zones that reach 5 m 
or more in thickness can the use of high tonnage 
mechanized methods and equipment be considered. 
Even then, the probability of excessive dilution of al- 
ready low-grade ore, or exacerbation of support prob- 
lems, will most likely offset the advantages. 

Transportation costs can average as low as $l/t or 
as high as $4.25/t of ore depending upon the distance 
from the mine head to the mill site. Mining recoveries 
are estimated at between 90 and 95 pet, and working 
days per year range from around 250 to 300. Costs 
for the reinvestment of mine equipment range from 
$15.50/t to $19.50/t of annual crude ore capacity, 
whereas replacement costs for mine plant generally 
average about half of the mine equipment replacement 
costs. In total, a new underground Turkish ehromite 
mine averaging about 50,000 tpy of crude ore would 
cost approximately $2.7 to $3.2 million to develop. 

Benefieiation of ehromite in Turkey is highly va- 
riable from property to property and even within a 
particular property. An example of one property utiliz- 
ing a variety of beneficiation methods is the Kefdag 
operation in Elazig Province. 

At Kefdag, the higher grade, massive ore is hand 
sorted and screened to produce a lump ore product 
and a fines feed to a simple gravity plant. The low- 
grade, disseminated ore provides the feed to a mag- 
netic separation plant. These three basic methods are 
used in various combinations at the other producing 
properties. 

Operating costs for the different ehromite beneficia- 
tion methods vary considerably. Component factor con- 
tributions to total operating cost vary as well. The 
percentage contribution of labor cost can range from 
90 pet in the ease of hand-sorting operations to 30 
pet for magnetic separation. Materials and supplies 
costs can contribute up to 30 pet of the total and 
equipment operation can range from effectively zero 
for hand-sorting operations up to 40 pet for heavy- 
media, gravity processing. Labor is the primary cost 



item since about half of all ehromite ore is bene- 
fieiated by hand-sorting methods. Capital replacement 
costs, as of 1981, are estimated to range from $14/t 
of annual ore feed capacity for a basic hand-sort, 
gravity-separation mill, to $27/t for a heavy-media, 
gravity mill, to as much as $80/t for a magnetic- 
separation plant. 

The weighted-average concentration ratio for all 
six properties evaluated is 1.3 t of crude ore per ton 
of salable ehromite product. This concentration 
ratio ranges from 1:1 for run-of-mine marketable ore 
to as high as 1.7 to 2.3 where either magnetic 
separation is necessary, or a combination of heavy- 
media and conventional gravity separation is used 
to produce an extremely high grade concentrate 
product. Estimated mill recoveries range from lows 
of 80 to 84 pet for fairly complicated processes 
required for low-grade ores to as high as 100 pet for 
high-grade, run-of-mine lump ores. The weighted 
average mill recovery for all six operations comes 
to 94.3 pet, which is fairly high on a worldwide basis, 
reflecting the large percentage of Turkish resource 
that is high-grade, basically run-of-mine material. 



CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

The demonstrated resources for the six operations 
evaluated in Turkey have a potential total ehromite 
availability of 7.6 million t of shipping-grade ehro- 
mite products averaging 46 pet CraOg. Mine operating 
capacities range from a low of 15,000 to a high of 
236,000 tpy of crude ore. Mine lives for the six 
operations at full capacity utilization would range 
from 7 to 33 yr. Of the total estimated analyzed 
capacity of approximately 621,000 tpy of crude ore, 
46 pet requires only hand sorting and/or screening 
to produce a marketable product, 34 pet is sent to 
various gravity-separation mills, and 20 pet goes 
through a magnetic-separation process. This mine 
output, after accounting for the various recoveries 
at the mill sites, produces approximately 460,000 
tpy of ehromite products. Of the estimated total 
available products from these properties, about 59 
pet is produced from simple hand sorting and/or 
screening, 25 pet is produced from gravity-separation 
processes, and 16 pet comes from magnetic separa- 
tion. Cr:Fe ratios for Turkish ehromite products are 
generally ^2.8. 

With a weighted average concentration ratio of 
1.3 and weighted-average crude ore mining cost of 
$27/t, the mine operating cost of salable product is 
estimated to average a relatively low $35/t. Since 
beneficiation is primarily by hand sorting and grav- 
ity concentration, processing costs average only 
about $5/t of product. Transportation costs at 
$59.50/t, however, are by far the highest of all the 
countries studied. This brings the total cost of 
product, on an average country basis FOB the 
various ports of exportation, to an estimated $99.50/t. 

In Turkey, the chromium mines are dispersed 
throughout the country. The terrain can often be 
mountainous, and distances from the ports can 



53 



range as long as 300 to 500 km. These distances are 
not as great as those faced by the countries of south- 
ern Africa, but overall transportation costs are 
greater owing to the mountainous terrain through 
which some chromite must be shipped, the greater 
dependence on long-haul trucking, smaller tonnage 
shipments, competition from higher valued commo- 
dities, and increased maintenance costs. 

The mines in Mugla Province (including the Uck- 
opru deposits and the Kondak mine) are approxi- 
mately 40 to 100 km, respectively, from the port of 
Fethiye, and with weighted-average transport costs 
to this port of $13.50/t, are the least expensive in 
the country. However, in terms of total potential 
tonnage nationwide that needs to be transported, 
only about 10 pet is located suflficiently close to 
utilize this port. Most tonnage is moved through 
the port of Iskenderun from the Guleman chromite 
district in southeastern Turkey and is estimated to 
average approximately $65/t in transport costs from 
the mines to the port. The other major producing 
area (Eskisehir) utilizes the port of Izmit on the sea 
of Marmara and faces inland shipping distances of 
up to 350 km. The Kavak mine in the Eskisehir area 
utilizes an aerial tram, truck, and rail to transport 
chromite ore to this port. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

At present, Turkey has two ferrochromium smelt- 
ers, both owned and operated by Etibank, itself a 
100-pct government-owned company. The Antalya 
plant, located in the port city of the same name on 
the southwest coast, produces only low-C ferro- 
chromium. Its present production capacity is 10,000 
tpy. The plant was built in the 1960'3 and was the 
only ferrochromium smelter in the country until 
1976. The Elazig smelter, located in the provincial 
capital city of Elazig, about 40 km northwest of the 
Soridag-Kefdag deposits, produces only high-C ferro- 
chromium. As of 1980, the plant's design capacity 
was 50,000 tpy of high-C ferrochromium, although it 
has never produced more than half of that tonnage 
in any year since the start of production in 1976. 

Etibank has announced plans to increase high-C 
ferrochromium capacity to 100,000 tpy with the addi- 
tion of two submersible electric-arc furnaces which 
would require an additional 275,000 tpy of ore and 
concentrate feed. This tonnage requirement repre- 
sents approximately 100 pet of Etibank's current 
production capacity in the Elazig District, according 
to this study. This would leave very little additional 
tonnage available for export; but such a develop- 
ment would be advantageous because the output of 
ore and concentrate from Etibank's Elazig opera- 
tions suffers from having the longest and most 
inefficient transportation route to the nearest port 
of exportation of all the major Turkish chromite 
operations. Production of ferrochromium not only 
increases the product value-added but in this case 
serves to more effectively compete with other high 
value commodities for the limited rail capacity. 



Smelter operating costs in Turkey are composed, on 
average, of about 40 pet electric power, 28 pet labor, 
and 32 pet raw materials. 

Turkish chromite is high in chromium content, 
averaging 46 pet CrgOg, and produces a high-Cr 
(grade-A) ferrochromium containing at least 65 pet 
Cr. In order to ascertain the total potential avail- 
ability of domestically produced ferrochromium, the 
smelters at Antalya and Elazig were assumed to oper- 
ate at full capacity for the production of only high-C 
ferrochromium. Etibank's plans to expand capacity at 
the Elazig smelter to 100,000 tpy were incorporated, 
and the estimated capital cost of this expansion was 
prorated to the Etibank properties that feed it. Cost 
determinations included all processing and transporta- 
tion costs to produce and deliver ferrochromium FOB 
the ports of Antalya and, in the case of the Elazig 
smelter, Iskenderun. 

The results underscore the basic competitiveness of 
the Turkish ferrochromium industry. The cost deter- 
minations ranged at the breakeven point from $0.22/lb 
to $0.30/lb ferrochromium, averaging $0.25/lb on a 
weighted-average country basis. This equates to an 
average of $0.39/lb of contained Cr. At the 15-pct 
profitability level, the range and weighted-average 
cost of ferrochromium are $0.24/lb to $0.31/lb and 
$0.27/lb, respectively. In terms of contained chromium 
this equates to about $0.41/lb. The narrow range of 
these two profitability level cost estimates is indicative 
of a mature industry whose major historical cost in- 
vestments have been recovered and whose further ex- 
pansion is economically viable. 

The resources of the six operations analyzed could 
potentially provide the feed for an estimated 2,892,000 
t of 65 pet high-C ferrochromium production. At capa- 
city utilization of both smelters this would represent 
about 26 yr of production. The mining operations of 
Etibank, if devoted exclusively to the production of 
ferrochromium, would account for 75 pet of this total. 
Currently, since Etibank owns both smelting facilities, 
it is the only producer and exporter of ferrochromium. 

It can be expected that Etibank, for the foreseeable 
future, will remain the dominant operating company 
in the Turkish chromium industry from mine output 
through ferrochromium production. It can further be 
expected that Turkey will continue to expand its ferro- 
chromium smelting capacity given its competitive 
position and the developmental and national income 
value-added benefits to be derived from increasing the 
capacity of downstream processing stages. It has been 
estimated (H, p. 100) that the value-added in Turkey 
from production of ferrochromium is approximately 
six times the value-added of salable (run-of-mine) ore 
and 4.7 times the value-added of salable chromite con- 
centrate. In addition, the "charge on external trade bal- 
ance" is 4.9 times greater and the estimated "effect 
on activity and employment in other sectors" (i.e., 
multiplier effect) is 30 pet for ferrochromium produc- 
tion versus 5 pet for the production of chromite ore 
and concentrate products. 

Turkey's main export markets are Europe and the 
United States. Given that this country is the main 
world source of high-grade metallurgical chromite 
outside of Zimbabwe, Albania, and the U.S.S.R., de- 



54 



mand for its chromium products should continue. How- 
ever, the demonstrated resource herein evaluated will 
last, at most, up to 33 yr at this study's assumed min- 
ing capacity of 621,000 tpy of crude ore. The resource 
tonnages at some individual mines will last only 7 jrr 
without additional tonnages being proven out. In con- 
trast to southern Africa, where conservatively esti- 
mated resources will last for hundreds of years, there 
would appear to be a trend, albeit a long-term one, for 
the Turkish chromium industry to decline relative to 
these producing nations. But the potential for proving 
further resources is there; the question is more one 
of importance as a major international supplier of 
chromite and ferrochromium rather than one of the 
continued existence of a domestic Turkish industry, 
for as this analysis shows, Turkey is cost competitive 
at this point in time. 



SUMMARY 

• A total of 11 million t of in situ demonstrated 
chromium-bearing resource was cost evaluated. 



• This resource is estimated to contain 7.6 million 
t of recoverable high-Cr chromite products with a 
weighted average grade of 46 pet CrgOg. 

• Total grade-A, high-C ferrochromium potentially 
available from this demonstrated resource is esti- 
mated at 2,892,000 t. 

• Chromite production cost (as defined) was esti- 
mated at $99.50/t of product on a country-wide, 
FOB port basis with mine operating cost account- 
ing for 35 pet, mill operating cost 5 pet, and trans- 
portation cost 60 pet of the total. 

• High-C ferrochromium production cost (as de- 
fined) was estimated at $0.39/lb of contained Cr 
at the breakeven level and $0.41/lb at the 15-pct 
profitability level. 

• Major implications are that full capacity produc- 
tion of ferrochromium (including expansion 
plans) would exhaust this static resource estimate 
in 26 yr ; the potential for proving additional chro- 
mite resources is considered good; and ferro- 
chromium production and export should increase 
as chromite exports decrease. 



THE PHILIPPINES 



GEOLOLGY AND 
RESOURCES 

It is estimated that 3.8 pet of the land area of the 
Philippines is covered by ultramafic complexes and 
serpentine rock, which are typical host rocks for chro- 
mite deposits. This equates to about 11,500 sq km of 
area. With such a large distribution of host rocks it 
is not surprising that the Philippines has a large num- 
ber of chromite occurrences and/or deposits (see fig. 
24). Table 32 gives the geographic distribution of 
chromite deposits and occurrences as of 1976, accord- 
ing to Bacuta U5, p. 1). 

Of the total deposits-occurrences shown in table 32, 
84 pet are located in the five provinces of Dinagat, 



Table 32. — Distribution of chromite deposits or occurrences In 
the Philippines 

Region and province or island Nuntber of deposits 

or occurrences 

Luzon Island: 

Zambales 62 

Pangasinan 3 

Tariac 1 

Queson 1 

Camarines Sur 3 

Central Philippine Islands: 

Palawan 14 

MIndoro 13 

Samar 8 

Homohon 4 

Dinagat 8 

Mindinao Island: 

MIsamIs Oriental 3 

Bukidnon 1 

Oavao Oriental 4 

Total 125 

Source: Bacuta {45, p. 1). 



Mindoro, Palawan, Samar, and Zambales; and Zam- 
bales Province contains approximately 50 pet of all 
occurrences. To show the inordinate importance that 
a few individual chromite operations can have, Bacuta 
estimated U5) that during the period 1946-76, 40 
pet of total metallurgical-grade chromite production 
came from the Acoje mining operations and 94 pet of 
refractory-chromite production came from the Coto 
mining operations, both in Zambales province. Figure 
25 shows the location of the current and proposed 
operations analyzed in this study. 

In 1976, reserve estimates for the Philippines were 
set at 4 million t of metallurgical-grade chromite and 
7.8 million t of refractory-grade chromite (45, p. 2). 
At the time these estimates were published, it was 
pointed out that at current (1976) production rates 
these tonnages would be depleted within 20 to 30 yr. 
Because of this, the Philippines Bureau of Mines in- 
stituted a program during the late 1970's with three 
major aims: (1) reconnaissance geologic mapping of 
the country's ultramafic complexes; (2) canvassing 
and inventory of all chromite occurrences; and (3) 
geologic, mining, and beneficiation investigations of 
low-grade alluvial, eluvial, and lateritic chromite de- 
posits. The emphasis on low-grade chromite resources 
was intended to alleviate the chronic mining reserve 
problems caused by the relatively small sizes of high- 
grade, metallurgical-grade, podiform-tjrpe deposits. 

Indeed, the current results of the program indicate 
that the potential for large, low-grade chromite de- 
posits is great. As table 33 indicates, approximately 
178.5 million t of low-grade resource, at the demon- 
strated level, is available for exploitation in the Philip- 
pines. On a crude-ore basis, this represents about 86 
pet of the total demonstrated resource level. However, 



55 




tSLum z 



LEGEND 
O City and /Of port 

^ Higlt-^irail*, metotlurgical chromite 
deposit and /or mine 

▲ Low-grade, metallurgical chromite 
deposit and /or mine 

a Refroctary^ro^ chromite mine and 



00 200 300 400 



Scale, km 



% 



Ophiolite belt 



Figure 24. — Ophiolite belts and low- and higli-grade, metallurgical- and 
refractory- grade chromite deposits-operations In the Philippines. 



because the grade of these deposits averages a very 
low 2 pet, the amount of contained CrgO,, represents 
less than one-third of the country total. This study 
estimates the demonstrated resource level for high- 
grade, metallurgical and refractory-grade chromite at, 
12.3 and 16.9 million t, respectively. The in situ grades 
for these resources are markedly higher, but when in- 
cluded with the low-grade material on a total, country- 
wide basis, the Philippine resource grade averages a 
low 5.6 pet CrjO,, owing to the large tonnage of low- 
grade material. However, the operations listed in table 
33 do not represent all of the operations and deposits 
that the Philippine Bureau of Mines officially carries 
as its own resource base. Their base also includes 
another 21 high-grade metallurgical deposits contain- 



ing a total of 1.8 million t of ore and 12 refractory- 
grade deposits containing a total of 1.1 million t of 
ore. The average-sized resource for operations and 
deposits not evaluated in this study is 86,000 t for 
metallurgical-grade operations and deposits and 92,000 
t for refractory grade operations and deposits. Because 
of the small sizes and/or lack of information, these 
operations and deposits were not evaluated for this 
study. 

The chromite resource specifications of the Philip- 
pines vary considerably. Cr:Fe ratios range from a 
low of 1.3 at Llorente to a high of 3.2 to 1 at Acoje 
and Narra. CrgO,, grades range from a low of 1.3 pet, 
also at Llorente, to a high of 44.6 pet at Lagonoy. 

Refractory-grade chromite resources are almost en- 



56 



ZAMBALES PROVINCE 
3\ 




100 200 300 400 



LEGEND 
O City and /or port 
X Chromite deposit and/or mine 
Cj Ferrochromium smelter (proposed) 



Figure 25. — Location of chromite deposits-operations and the proposed 
ferrochromium smelter In the Philippines. 



tirely located in the Coto-Masinloc mining properties 
in Zambales province. The Masinloc property is lo- 
cated about 10 km south of the Goto operations, and 
when in production, its ore is sold to and processed 
through the Goto mill. For this reason, its demon- 
strated resource of approximately 0.5 million t of 34 
pet CrzOg is reported along with the Goto operation. 
In addition, the total demonstrated resource figure in- 
cludes a major, new, underground, low-silica deposit, 
within the area of Government Mineral Reservation 
Number 1 U6) . This mineral reservation has historic- 
ally been included in the Goto reserve-resource esti- 
mates because the chromite is mined on a royalty basis 
by the operating company at Goto. The total tonnage 
at the main Goto operation is contained within ap- 
proximately 17 separate ore bodies or lenses with over 
80 pet contained within only 6 of the ore bodies. 

A summary of resources and future prospects indi- 
cates that if no major technological or economic prob- 
lems arise in mining or beneficiating the low-grade 
material, then the near-term prospects for the Philip- 
pine chromite industry are bright. The tonnages this 
study has identified are very large and show that by 
intense geological investigation of only five deposits 



of low-grade eluvials, placers, and beach sands, the 
Philippines has greatly increased its demonstrated 
chromite resource level over the last 6 yr. However, 
the product from these low-grade ores is invariably of 
a low Gr:Fe ratio suitable only for the production of 
grade-G charge ferrochromium. The outlook for addi- 
tional discoveries is excellent, given the large propor- 
tion of land mass that contains favorable host rocks for 
chromite. However, for the metallurgical portion of 
the country's chromite industry it is apparent that 
the problem of small-sized, high-grade deposits will 
remain and that no vast increase in this t3T)e of 
chromite resource should be anticipated. 

As for refractory chromite resources, the prospects 
for the next 10 yr are directly tied to the prospects of 
the Goto operation, which has been the single largest 
refractory-grade chromite producer in the world for 
the last 36 yr. Prospects for additional discoveries of 
refractory-grade chromite are better than for metal- 
urgical-grade because refractory predominates over 
metallurgical-grade ore bodies in the primary chromite 
occurrences of the Philippines. However, the same 
problem of small-sized ore bodies also affects refract- 
ory-grade operations. The exceptions are the few large 



57 



Table 33. — Estimated In situ chromlte resource data for selected Philippine deposits and operations as of 1980 

_, .. .• _ e»-,. „i Demonstrated Weighted-average Contained^ Cr.O,, Identified resource', 

Deposit-operation name Status' resource, lO^t grade, pet Cr^o; tO't 10't 

High grade:* 

Masdang Exp 4,500 32.5 1,462 4,500 

Narra P/S 4,130 35.5 1,466 4,130 

Acoje (Santa Cruz) P/S 2,850 18.4 524 2,850 

Candelaria Exp 650 35.0 227 710 

Lagonoy P/S 109 45.0 49 109 

Siiangin P/S ^62 19^5 12 80 

Total or average 12,301 ^30.3 3,740 12,379 

Low grade;^ 

Llorente Exp 124,700 1.3 1,621 124,700 

Bicobian Exp 48,220 3.3 1,591 48,220 

Batang-Batang Exp 2,627 5.5 144 5,940 

Bacungan Exp 1 ,671 7.0 117 3,840 

Irahuan Exp 1,277 6£ 84 1,277 

Total or average 178,495 '2.0 3.557 183,977 

Refractory grade:' 

Coto-Masinloc P/S 16,785 26.0 4,364 16,785 

Kinmalgin P/S 175 3^2 55 175 

Total or average 16,960 ^26^0 4,419 16,960 

Grand total or average . . . . 207,756 ^5.6 11,716 213,316 

' Status as of January 1981 : P/S-producing or on standby status: Exp-explored prospect. 
^ Data may not add to totals shown because of averaging and independent rounding. 

' Identified tonnage equals demonstrated plus Inferred tonnage; where equal, there was insufficient Information to support an Inference beyond the demonstrated 
level. 

* CrjOj, > 15.0 pet; AljOj, < 20.0 pet. 
5 Not cost evaluated. 

* CrjOj, < 15.0 pet; AljOj, < 20.0 pet. 
' AljOj, > 20.0 pet. 

° Grade Is the In situ weighted average, within group at the demonstrated level. 

' Country grade is the in situ weighted average over all deposits at the demonstrated level. 



ore bodies that have been found in the vicinity of the 
Coto operations. 

MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

Chromite mining in the Philippines ranges from en- 
tirely surface methods, to combinations of surface and 
underground methods, to entirely underground meth- 
ods. Table 34 summarizes pertinent data and assump- 
tions used in the analysis of the Philippine properties 
included in this study. As shown, nine properties were 
costed as utilizing surface mining only, two (Acoje 
and Coto-Masinloc) were costed using a combination of 



surface and underground methods over the mine lives, 
and only one small operation (Lagonoy) was evaluated 
based on utilizing only underground mining methods. 

Of the entire 207,756,000 t of chromite-bearing ma- 
terial estimated to comprise the demonstrated resource 
for the Philippines, 93.3 pet is considered to be min- 
able by surface methods, while only 6.7 pet is estimated 
to require underground methods for extraction. How- 
ever, in terms of contained CrgO,, the percentages 
change slightly to 87 and 13 pet, respectively. 

There are many reasons for the preponderance of 
surface mining in the Philippine chromite industry. 
First, 86 pet of the evaluated chromite-bearing ma- 
terial occurs as low-grade beach sand, eluvial, alluvial. 



Table 34. — Surface mining data for selected Philippine chromite operations 

T „, „„„ .^ .„, „i Surface minable Percent of recoverable w , -^ ^ 

^,^lno\Zn«^«^nn resource tonnage, resource mined by ^^^X''^^^^'^' Concentration 

and deposit-operation' ^^3, surface methods 10' t mined ratio 

High-grade, metallurgical: 

Masdang 4,500 100 180 1.7 

Narra 4,130 100 259 1.5 

Acoje (Santa Cruz) 1 ,600 56 200 6.6 

Candelaria 650 100 65 1.8 

Low-grade, metallurgical: 

Llorente 124,700 100 4,500 45.0 

Bicobian 48,220 100 1,371 19.0 

Batang-Batang 2,627 100 252 10.0 

Bacungan 1 ,671 100 300 8.0 

Irahuan 1,277 100 115 8.0 

High-grade, refractory: 

Coto-Masinloc 4,196 25 348 3.5 

Kinmalgin 175 100 _18 i.o 

Total 193,746 NAp 7,608 NAp 

NAp Not applicable. 

' Sllangln deposit-operation (listed In table 33) not analyzed for costs, owing to small resource tonnage. 



Yearly capacity, 1 0' t 
product 



104 
170 



100 
18 



58 



or lateritic deposits, occurring on the surface with little 
or no overburden. Second, the vast majority of the 
known high-grade (metallurgical) podiform deposits 
in the Philippines outcrop but do not extend to great 
depths. Third, surface mining methods make it easier 
to follow the erratic trend of typical Philippine podi- 
form deposits. In fact, surface mining is considered to 
be an important exploration method in the Philippines 
due to the variable shapes, attitudes, and mineraliza- 
tion of chromite occurrences W) . Fourth, in many 
cases the color of the dunite host rock is difficult to 
distinguish from the chromite ore, and surface mining 
helps to allevite this problem. 

In general, it appears that an effective economic 
limit to surface mining of chromite ore bodies in the 
Philippines is around 4 t of waste to 1 t of ore. At 
this stripping ratio and beyond, it is probably more 
economic, in terms of the mine operating cost, to select 
an underground method although other considerations 
such as reserves, volume, and production requirements 
should also be considered. 

Surface Mining 

Ten of the 11 surface mining properties selected for 
complete engineering cost evaluation in this study are, 
or are proposed to be, relatively large operations on a 
crude-ore basis by world chromite industry standards. 
Capacities for 10 of the 11 properties range from 
65,000 to 4.5 million tpy of crude ore. Only one of the 
properties, Kinmalgin, with a capacity of 18,000 tpy 
of run-of-mine ore, has been analyzed as a labor in- 
tensive "camote-type" mine. The others have been 
analyzed as mechanized surface mines with some 
manual activities incidental to the major operation. 
These operations fall into two categories — those that 
mine high-grade, podiform-type deposits with rela- 
tively small lateral dimensions but extensions to depths 
>5 m, and those that will mine low-grade beach-sand, 
alluvial, or eluvial deposits with large lateral dimen- 
sions and shallow depths (<5 m). The Acoje (Santa 
Cruz) , Candelaria, Coto-Masinloc, Masdang, and Narra 
properties are in the first category while Bacungan, 
Batang-Batang, Bicobian, Irahuan, and Llorente are 
of the second type. 

"Camote-type" mining is a local term used to des- 
cribe any small-scale, labor-intensive, unsystematic 
method of mining. It can be used to describe both 
surface and underground operations. This method 
developed due to the nature, size, erratic mineraliza- 
tion, and remoteness of chromite deposits in the 
Philippines. Common hand tools such as wheelbarrows, 
shovels, picks, and pris-bars are used in camote-type 
mining and mechanization is minimal, usually consist- 
ing of a bulldozer for major cleaning or stripping and 
small trucks for transport of product. Where the ma- 
terial is amenable, no drilling or blasting is done. 
Instead, bulldozers or, more commonly, hand tools, are 
used for breaking the rock. 

The camote-type method is only suitable for small- 
scale mining of high-grade, shallow occurrences with 
an erratic trend to mineralization. It is usually chosen 
by a company with little or no capitalization. The 
advantage, at least in terms of the operating cost 



to produce a final product, is evident at the Kinmalgin 
operation where the mine operating cost per ton of 
salable product is only 16.5 pet of that estimated for 
the other properties on a weighted-average basis. 
Productivity with this mining method is very low, 
estimated to be 0.5 to 1 t per worker-shift. The Kin- 
malgin property is one of the largest camote-type 
mining operations possible, and as such, has been as- 
sumed to be at the upper end of the productivity 
range. It is estimated that with camote-type mining, 
75 to 85 pet of the mine operating cost consists of 
direct labor. As expected, capital costs are very low. 
Exploration and development costs are usually part of 
the normal mining cost. It is roughly estimated that 
the cost of mine equipment, mine plant, and infra- 
structure capital costs should be about $7/t of annual 
capacity for an average small-scale, camote-type sur- 
face operation. 

Nine of the remaining 10 mechanized operations are 
hillside or level strip-bench operations. Clearing of 
vegetation and initial stripping for development and 
exploration purposes is accomplished with bulldozers. 
Waste and ore extraction is most often done by front- 
end loaders, back-hoes, or "traxcavators" of 0.5- to 
3-cu m capacity, which load into small rear-dump 
trucks of about 10- to 15-t capacity. Exceptions to this 
description are the Coto-Masinloc property where 
0.5-cu m shovels have been used for excavation and 
loading, and the proposed Bicobian and Llorente opera- 
tions, where 30-t trucks are proposed for handling ore 
and waste. Waste material from stripping and mining 
operations is either pushed aside or transported short 
distances from the pits. 

Because the mining will follow the trends of the ore 
bodies, a variety of pit shapes occur, resulting in oval, 
semioval, circular, tunnel, or U-shaped plan views 
(^7) . The number of benches will vary depending upon 
the number of chromite exposures and the trends of 
the ore bodies. Usually two to six benches are required. 
According to Bacani (47), bench widths range from 
3 to 5 m in smaller operations and 5 to 8 m in larger 
operations. Bench heights range from 3 to 6 m in the 
small mines and 5 to 12 m in the larger pits. Bench 
sjopes range from 48° to 65°, and haul roads grade 1 
to 5 pet. Water drainage generally poses no problem, 
being handled by digging canals or ditches at the sides 
and/or toes of the benches. Productivities of these 
operations are estimated to range from 1 to 1.5 t of 
crude ore per workershift. 

The Batang-Batang property is proposed to be a 
hydraulic operation. The engineering evaluation is 
based on a preliminary study done in 1978, which 
proposed a hydraulic operation because the chromite 
is disseminated in fine sands and clays. Hydraulic 
monitors will direct a slurry to a prepared sump pit 
for pumping to a mobile screening plant, which will 
in turn feed a stationary gravity-magnetic separation 
plant. 

Table 35 shows the percentage breakdown of capital 
cost estimates for nonoperating surface mines in the 
Philippines. The total investment required to bring the 
proposed operations into production is apportioned 
between three categories; exploration-development- 
infrastructure capital costs; mine equipment capital 



Table 35. — Percentage breakdown of total estimated surface 

mining capital Investment required for developing Philippine 

chromlte deposits 

Type of material and Capital investment to develop, pet of total' 

deposit-operation 

name^ E-D-l^ Mine equipment Mine plant 

High grade: 

Masdang 63.0 32.0 5.0 

Candelaria 52.0 46.0 2.0 

Low grade: 

27.0 69.0 4.0 

21.0 66.0 13.0 

Batang-Batang 29.0 57.0 14,0 

Bancugan 39.0 58.0 3.0 

Irahuan 51.0 40.0 9.0 

' Explored. 

M981 U.S. dollars. 

' Exploration, development, and infrastructure. 



costs; and mine plant capital costs. As the data indi- 
cate, there are significant differences in total invest- 
ment required to initiate production for the proposed 
low-grade and high-grade operations. In general, the 
low-grade eluvial deposits require a smaller percentage 
of exploration-development-infrastructure investments 
(an average of 33 pet) than the high-grade deposits 
(58 pet). Mine equipment accounts for the bulk of 
mine capital investments for the low-grade deposits, 
with an average of 58 pet versus only 39 pet of total 
investment attributable to mine equipment for the 
high-grade deposits. On average, mine plant invest- 
ment requirements constitute a very small proportion 
of the total investment for both types of deposits, 
averaging 9 pet for the low-grade and 3.5 pet for the 
high-grade deposits, respectively. 

Of particular note is the relatively small total capital 
investment required to develop a world-class-size sur- 
face chromite mine. The average estimated output, in 
terms of final product, for the seven currently non- 
producing operations evaluated in this study is 56,000 
tpy of concentrate, which can be brought into produc- 
tion for an average of around $8 million in total mine 
investments. 

Underground Mining 

Only three of the operations evaluated for this study 
have been costed on the basis of partial or complete 
production by underground mining methods. Pertinent 
data resulting from the study for the three operations 
is listed in table 36. Of total recoverable demonstrated 
resources, approximately 6.7 pet is minable by under- 



Table 36. — Underground mining data for selected Philippine 
chromlte operations (high grade) 

Metallurgical 

Refractory: 

Aco^ (Santa Lagonoy Coto-Masinloc 

Minable resource 10^ t.. 1,250 109 12,589 

Recoverable resource'... pet.. 44.0 100.0 75.0 
Annual capacity, 10^t: 

Mine production 160 5 1,044 

Recoverable product* 87 5 297 

^ Pet of total demonstrated resource recoverable by underground mining 
methods. 
' Output of upgraded ore in the form of concentrates. 



ground methods. This tonnage represents 13 pet of the 
total contained CrgOg. 

The Lagonoy property has been, and probably will 
continue to be, mined as a very small-scale, camote- 
type underground operation of around 5,000 tpy of 
crude ore. The Acoje (Santa Cruz) underground 
operations are large scale by Philippine standards, 
although the resource tonnage estimated to be minable 
by underground methods is only 44 pet of the total 
for the property. The Coto-Masinloc operations are the 
largest underground chromite mining operations in 
the country, estimated to have an underground mining 
capacity of 1.044 million tpy of crude ore. Production 
from the underground resource tonnage analyzed at 
Coto-Masinloc comes from five or more ore bodies and 
is highly mechanized. It is estimated that 75 pet of 
the total resource available at the Coto-Masinloc 
properties will have to be mined by underground 
methods. 

According to Bacani (47), prior operations at La- 
gonoy consisted of scattered adits and some shafts to 
allow access for the miners to follow the "veins" 
(ore bodies), extracting ore as they proceeded. Tim- 
bering, drilling, and blasting were necessary, but 
mucking was done with wheelbarrows. This camote- 
type, underground mining method is very labor inten- 
sive, with very low estimated productivities of 0.25 to 
0.5 t per worker-shift. 

The mining methods at Acoje (Santa Cruz) and 
Coto-Masinloc are basically very similar; the method 
is officially referred to as "top slicing." Horizontal 
slices of ore, 2.5 to 3 m thick, are extracted after block- 
ing out by development drifts and raises. At Acoje 
(Santa Cruz), successive slices are taken from the 
top to the bottom (underhand slicing) while at Coto- 
Masinloc the slices proceed from bottom to top (over- 
hand slicing). The first system develops into what 
essentially is a "caving" operation while the second 
system (at Coto-Masinloc) requires sand filling with 
mill tailings as mining progresses upward. Scrapers 
and hand-tramming seem to be the preferred methods 
of haulage in the stoping areas while main haulage is 
by diesel locomotives. At present, the most common 
access method for the large scale mining of large ore 
bodies is by vertical shaft. Productivities for these 
large-scale operations are estimated at 5.5 t per 
worker- shift and are very high in comparison with 
other chromite operations throughout the world. 

Mine operating costs at these three underground 
operations are not significantly different. The mine 
operating cost at Lagonoy is slightly less than the 
other two due to the lack of need for a significant 
amount of stope development. The small difference in 
mine operating costs between Acoje (Santa Cruz) 
and Coto-Masinloc is due to better scale economies at 
the latter. For the camote-type mining (at Lagonoy), 
it is estimated that labor accounts for 75 pet of the 
total mine operating cost, with 15 pet comprised of 
materials and supplies, and 10 pet representing equip- 
ment costs. For the large-scale underground opera- 
tions, the relevant percentages are labor, 20 pet; ma- 
terials and supplies, 30 pet; and equipment operation, 
50 pet. Of this latter 50 pet, half is attributable to 
energy costs. 



60 



General Operational 
Problems 

A number of operation problems need to be men- 
tioned in relation to the chromite mining industry in 
the Philippines because of the major impact they could 
have at any time on production capabilities. First, 
adverse weather conditions, particularly very heavy 
rains, not only affect normal surface mining operations 
but can also seriously affect negotiation of haul roads 
from the mine to mills or stockpiles and to port fa- 
cilities. Road washouts and high water levels at asso- 
ciated river crossings could also halt haulage opera- 
tions, especially to port facilities. Second hand or old 
equipment is commonly used at the mines (most often 
at the smaller mines), and availability of mechanized 
equipment is sometimes a constraining factor. In 
addition, remoteness of the mines and the associated 
lack of good facilities in the mining camps makes 
recruiting of technical and skilled workers difficult. 
This remoteness also creates communication difficul- 
ties as well. The above points and related issues are 
covered in greater detail in Bacani U7). 



BENEFICIATION 

Table 37 lists pertinent technical data oh bene- 
ficiation of chromite ore in the Philippines for the 10 
metallurgical-grade properties evaluated for potential 
production of high-C ferrochromium. The resources of 
the first five properties listed are considered to be 
high-grade at 18.6 to 45 pet CrjOa in the mill feed, 
while the resources for the last five are considered to 
be low-grade at 1.3 to 7 pet CrgOa in the mill feed. 

The five high-grade resource operations represent a 
total mill-feed capacity of 920,000 tpy of crude ore to 
produce 432,000 tpy of concentrate products. The con- 
centration ratio for these high-grade resources aver- 
ages 1.8, on a weighted basis. Methods used to bene- 
ficiate the high-grade ores range from a simple, labor- 
intensive, wash-handsort operation at Lagonoy, to 
gravity separation with a combination of spirals and 
tables at Acoje (Santa Cruz) and Candelaria, to grav- 
ity separation with spirals, tables, and jigs at Narra 
and Masdang. Estimated mill recoveries range from 
75 to 100 pet of the contained CrgOa, and concentrate 



grades range from 45 to 48 pet CrgOg. Of the total 
estimated actual or proposed production from these 
five operations, only about 17 pet could be considered 
as lump product, with the remaining 83 pet in the form 
of concentrates. 

The five low-grade-resource operations represent a 
total mill-feed capacity of 6.537 million tpy of crude 
ore to produce a potential product of only 250,000 tpy 
of concentrate, which results in a very high ratio of 
ore mined to concentrate output of approximately 30 
to 1. Proposed beneficiation methods for the low-grade 
ores do not vary significantly. All involve a combina- 
tion of gravity separation with spirals and tables 
followed by high-intensity magnetic separation. The 
only significant difference is the preparation of ore 
prior to gravity separation where methods range from 
a slurry-screen-classify operation at Batang-Batang to 
full crush-grind-screen-classify preparation for the 
lateritic material at Bicobian. Estimated CrgOg re- 
coveries for the low-grade ores range from 80 to 90 
pet, with concentrate-product grades ranging from 
45 to 50 pet CrjO,. All product output will be in the 
form of concentrates. 

The weighted-average mill operating cost on a 
crude-ore-feed basis for the low-grade deposits is 42 
pet lower than for the high grade. However, on a per- 
ton-of -product basis the weighted-average mill operat- 
ing cost for the low-grade resource operations is esti- 
mated to be very high, approximately 10 times greater 
than the corresponding figure for the high-grade re- 
source operations. This is the single most negative fac- 
tor mitigating against production of chromite concen- 
trates from these low-grade resources. If, for example, 
a deposit requires 25 t of material mined to produce 
1 t of beneficiated product at an estimated $1.00/t of 
feed, and this cost were to increase by only $0.25/t, 
then the cost of product would increase by $6.25/t, or 

25 times the increase/t of material mined. In what is 
normally a stable market for chromite concentrates, 
this increase could seriously affect the profitability of 
the operation and certainly represents an additional 
risk that high-grade resource operations ai-e not as 
seriously exposed to. This economic difference between 
the high-grade and low-grade chromite resources of 
the Philippines is graphically demonstrated in figure 

26 and fully explained in the following availability 
discussion. 



Table 37. — Technical data on beneficiation of Philippine chromite 



Deposit-operation 



Type of ore 



Recovery, 
pet 



Grade, pet CrPj 



Capacity, lO^tpy Type of product output 



Feed Concentrate product Feed 



Product 



Masdang High grade (44 pet), low grade (56 pet). 85.0 

Narra do 85.0 

Acoje do 85.0 

Candelaria do 75.0 

Lagonoy do 100.0 

Llorente Low-grade eluvial, sandy 80.0 

Bicobian Low-grade eluvial, lateritic. 85.0 

Batang-Batang . . . Low-grade eluvial, (100 pet sand, clay, gravel). 83.0 

Bancungan Low-grade soil (93 pet), rock (7 pet). 90.0 

Irahuan Low-grade sand (85 pet), banded (1 5 pet). 83.0 



32.5 


48.0 


180 


103 


100 pet concentrate. 


35.5 


46.0 


260 


171 


40 pet lump, 

60 pet concentrate. 


18.4 


48.0 


360 


117 


100 pet concentrate. 


35.0 


48.0 


65 


35 


Do. 


45.0 


45.0 


5 


5 


100 pet lump. 


1.3 


45.0 


4,500 


98 


100 pet concentrate. 


3.3 


50.0 


1,372 


73 


Do. 


6.0 


44.0 


250 


25 


Do. 


7.0 


49.0 


300 


39 


Do. 


6.6 


44.0 


115 


13 


Do. 



61 



CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

There are very distinct economic differences between 
the operations evaluated. Most apparent are the wide- 
ranging operating and transportation costs per ton of 
salable product. Figure 26 and the data in table 38 
detail the differences in mining, processing, and trans- 
portation costs for the high- and low-grade metallurgi- 
cal resources. For the high-grade (nonrefractory) re- 
source operations, actual or proposed mine operating 
costs /t of product lie in a range of from approximately 
$15/t to $53/t, with a weighted average of $22.50/t. 
For the low-grade resource operations, all of which are 
either nonproducing or in the initial exploitation 
stages, mine operating costs per ton of product are 
estimated to be 50 pet higher on a weighted-average 
basis even though all are surface mining operations. 
This is due primarily to very high concentration ra- 
tios, estimated to average 30:1 for the low-grade 
resources and only 1.8 :1 for the high-grade resources. 

As mentioned previously, mill operating costs on a 
per-ton-of-concentrate-product basis are 10 times 
greater for the low-grade as opposed to the high-grade 
resources, again primarily as a result of very high 
concentration ratios. Transportation costs, when put 
on the same basis, are 60 pet greater for the low-grade 
resources, entirely because of greater transportation 
distances. The total estimated cost per ton of chromite 
product, FOB ocean transport, stands at $35.50/t for 



1.8 


30.0 


15.3 


$22.50 
5.50 
7.50 


$ 33.50 
55.50 
12.00 


$28.00 
29.50 
10.00 



Table 38. — Estimated mining, milling, and transportation costs 

per ton of chromite product, and total chromite product 

availability, by resource type, for the Philippines 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 

High-grade Low-grade Total 
Ore-concentrate ratio 

Weighted-average cost per metric 
ton of concentrate: 

Mining 

Beneficiation 

Transportation' 

Total cost, f.o.b. port 35.50 101.00 67.50 

Total chromite potential 1 0^ t . . 6,200 5,91 2 1 2, 1 1 2 

Weighted-average grade CrPj. ..pet.. 47 48 47 

' Includes handling charges. 

the high-grade resources and $101/t for the low-grade 
resources, or 284 pet greater. Clearly, the high-grade 
resources of the Philippines are very competitive on a 
worldwide basis and are vastly superior economically 
to the low-grade resources. Factoring all of this in- 
formation into a single country statistic would place 
the Philippines at a total weighted-average cost 
(FOB) of approximately $67.50/t of chromite product. 
If a cutoff point of $65/t of product (FOB) were 
chosen to determine overall export competiveness, then 
approximately 50 pet of the total estimated potential 
12.1 million t of chromite products would meet this 
criterion. Of this total, 90 pet would be from high- 
grade resources and 10 pet would come from the low- 
grade resources. 




TOTAL RECOVERABLE CHROMITE, iO^t 

Figure 26. — Estimated mining, milling, and transportation costs per ton of chromite product, and availability of chromite from 
selected operations In the Philippines. 



62 



If all (non-refractory-grade) deposits and proper- 
ties evaluated were developed and operated at esti- 
mated full capacity, they would represent a total com- 
bined mine output of 7.4 million tpy of chromium- 
bearing resource yielding approximately 682,000 tpy 
of chromite products. On a weighted-average basis, 
this represents an overall concentration ratio of ma- 
terial mined to product output of 15.8, which is ex- 
tremely high because the majority of potential re- 
sources are of a very low grade. The beneficiated- 
product grades range from 44 to 68 pet CrjOs with a 
countrywide average of about 47 pet. For the com- 
bined high- and low-grade (nonrefraetory) demon- 
strated resource level of 190,8 million t, it is estimated 
that a potential 12.1 million t of 47 pet CrgOg products 
could be produced. Using the 1980 reported and esti- 
mated mine capacity production estimates this would 
represent productive mine lives of from 6 to 36 yr. 

The refractory-grade properties contain an esti- 
mated 3.95 million t of recoverable chromite concen- 
trate, 99 pet of which is contained within the Coto- 
Masinloc operation. This equates to approximately 
396,000 tpy at capacity operation, with the demon- 
strated resources at Coto-Masinloc sufficient for 
about 10 yr of production at current capacity. 

The Philippines has the shortest inland trans- 
portation distances, and with countrywide average 
transport costs of $10/t, is the least expensive of the 
major producing countries. The chromite operations 
currently producing or proposed are located on several 
different islands and generally truck the chromite to a 
nearby portage for either direct loading or barging to 
the ocean freighter. With the exception of the 50,000- 
tpy proposed ferrochromium smelter in Cagayan de 
Oro, the great majority of chromite will continue to 
be exported. Given the reliance upon short-haul truck- 
ing, the cost and availability of which is borne by the 
mining concern, no major transportation infrastruc- 
tural problems are evident in terms of cost, but the 
overall capacity of the transportation system is quite 
limited. 

Currently, the major export markets for Philippine 
chromite are the United States, Western Europe, 
China, and Japan, At this time, a number of factors 
point to an increase in sales to the Japanese ferro- 
chromium industry. Among these factors are, the 
geographical proximity of the Philippines to Japan 
and the lower transport costs this implies, the cost 
competitiveness of its high-grade resources vis-a-vis 
other competing suppliers, and the need on the part of 
the Japanese ferrochromium manufacturers to con- 
serve electric power consumption and costs; this fav- 
ors Philippine high-grade material because the high 
Cr:Fe ratio of this resource helps reduce power con- 
sumption and cost, since less material is required to 
be smelted/t of product. 

There are real constraints, however, on the absolute 
size of potential Philippine chromite sales to Japan 
(or its other markets) given the problems of limited 
high-grade reserves and its relatively limited ship- 
loading facilities. It is doubtful, given present cir- 
cumstances, that the Philippines could ever replace 
South Africa, quantitatively, as a major chromite 
supplier to either the United States or Japan, The 



major significant factors to monitor in this re- 
gard are the quantity, quality, and cost competitive- 
ness of the relatively large low-grade resources herein 
evaluated. But again, even these somewhat optimistic 
resource estimates pale in comparison to the known 
reserves of South African chromite. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

Historically, the chromium marketing situation in 
the Philippines has been centered entirely around the 
export of chromite ore and concentrate products. 
Refractory-grade chromite has held a majority posi- 
tion in total chromite exports, while the smaller 
tonnage exports of metallurgical-grade chromite have 
primarily gone to the Japanese ferrochromium indus- 
try. In 1976, Ferro-Chemicals Inc. began producing 
high-carbon ferrochromium from its small, 12,000-tpy 
plant in Misamis Oriental Province on the island of 
Mindanao. The raw material is obtained from most of 
the country's high-grade producers. Because the 
plant's output is very limited, primarily for domestic 
consumption, and it was unclear where the smelter's 
ore-concentrate feed sources were, this plant was not 
evaluated here. 

There has been recent advanced planning on the 
part of Acoje Mining Co. of the Philippines and Voest 
Alpine (Austria) to construct a 50,000-tpy ferro- 
chromium plant to produce (65 pet contained Cr, grade 
A) high-C ferrochromium using local chromite con- 
centrates (i8, p. 209). This will doubtless reduce the 
amount of metallurgical-grade chromite available for 
export and will add to the chromite import problems 
of Japanese ferrochromium smelters, while providing 
direct competition to their ferrochromium products. 

In order to ascertain the economic potential of this 
endeavor the total cost estimate of the ferrochromium 
plant was incorporated into a cost determination 
evaluation based upon one currently nonprodueing 
mining operation supplying all concentrate feed re- 
quirements. The results (table 39) point favorably 
to the development of this facility. To cover total in- 
vestment costs from mine development through the 
construction and operation of the ferrochromium plant 



Table 39. — Per pound of contained chromium cost and 

potential availability estimates, by ferrochromium product 

grade, for the Philippines 

(1981 U.S. dollars) 

NAp Not applicable. 

' FOB-Japan-market basis, includes all chromite and ferrochromium 
transportation and handling costs. 

^ FOB export point, includes all chromite and ferrochromium handling and 
transportation costs. 

^ Items in parentheses not included in Total". 



Type 


Weighted average cost 
Breakeven 15-pct 


.Total potential 

ferrochromium, 

103 1 


Pet Of 
total 




$0.37 
.40 
.40 
.54 


$0.49 
.64 
.45 
.64 


2,439 

(1,172) 

244 

2,850 


44.0 


Philippine smelter model^ . 
Grade B' 


(21.0) 
4.5 


Grade C 


51.5 


Tota|3 


NAp 


NAp 


5,500 


100.0 



63 



(and obtain a 15-pct rate of return on the invest- 
ments) would require a 1981 U.S. dollar price (FOB) 
of approximately $0.42/lb ferrochromium or $0.64/lb 
contained Cr. 

Assuming all chromite ore and concentrates suitable 
for the manufacture of high-carbon ferrochromium 
were to be carried through to this processing stage 
either in-country or in Japan, this ferrochromium 
facility would represent about 21 pet of the ferro- 
chromium production potentially available from 
Philippine demonstrated chromite resources. Its con- 
struction would represent a major structural change 
in the Philippine chromium industry, yet another step 
towards greater reliance by the steel industries of the 
major industrial countries on the supply of ferro- 
chromium from less industrialized nations and a con- 
comitant reduction in industrialized-nation ferro- 
chromium production capacity. It is thought at this 
time that the output of this plant will primarily be 
exported to China, which somewhat reduces the impact 
of direct competition to ferrochromium manufacturers 
in Japan alluded to previously, but still represents a 
reduction in available chromite supply to their ferro- 
chromium industry. 

The remaining nine actual or proposed (non-re- 
fractory-grade) operations were assumed to transport 
total mine and mill product output to Japan for proc- 
essing to high-C ferrochromium. These results under- 
score the attractiveness of Philippine chromite as a 
source of raw material supply to Japanese ferrochro- 
mium manufacturers. 

Given the general relationship between the Cr:Fe 
ratio of chromite and the grade of ferrochromium 
produced, the Philippine resources were apportioned 
44 pet to the manfacture of grade-A, 4.5 pet to grade- 
B, and 51.5 pet to grade-C ferrochromium. The cost 
determinations at the breakeven level for the grade-A 
product averaged $0.24/lb ferrochromium, grade-B 
averaged $0.23/lb, and grade-C averaged $0.28/lb. On 
a per-pound-contained-Cr basis the weighted-average 
costs are $0.37, $0.40, and $0.54, respectively. The 15- 
pct profitability level analysis determined ferrochro- 
mium costs of $0.32/lb for grade-A, $0.26/lb for 
grade-B, and $0.34/lb for grade-C, which equates to 
per-pound-contained-Cr costs of $0.49, $0.45, and 



$0.64, respectively. These costs are all on a delivered- 
to-market-in-Japan basis (except for grade-A product 
category, which includes the operation feeding the 
Philippine smelter) and represent a general measure 
of the competitiveness of both the Philippine raw 
material and the Japanese and Philippine manufac- 
tured ferrochromium products. The grade-C product 
is that which is estimated to be available from the 
low-grade resources; its relatively higher cost is 
basically due to the higher cost of delivered low-grade 
chromite concentrates. 

The results of the analysis indicate that 5.5 million 
t of ferrochromium products are potentially recover- 
able from the demonstrated resources evaluated. Ap- 
plying the assumption of full capacity operation from 
mine through ferrochromium manufacture for all 
operations yields an average yearly availability esti- 
mate of 299,000 tpy. 

It needs to be emphasized that the issues discussed 
previously concerning production and shipping capa- 
city, limited high-grade reserves, and the ability to 
expand supply significantly, as they related to the 
availability of chromite products, hold at this further 
processing stage as well. At this point in time, the 
outlook for the future is more one of structural change 
(i.e., ferrochromium production versus chromite ex- 
ports) rather than one of significantly expanding the 
scale of the industry itself. 



SUMMARY 

A total in situ demonstrated resource estimate of 
207.8 million t was cost evaluated. As shown in 
figure 27 the total resource tonnage is appor- 
tioned 86 pet to low-grade, nonrefractory re- 
source; 6 pet to high-grade, nonrefractory re- 
source; and 8 pet to the high-grade refractory 
resource type. 

The total (nonrefractory grade) demonstrated 
resource is estimated to contain a potential 12.1 
million t of chromite products suitable for further 
processing to high-C ferrochromium. The product 
tonnages are as apportioned in figure 27. 



6 pet 
High-grade metallurgical use 



8 pet 
Refractory grade 





207.8 xlO^t demonstrated resource 



12.1 xlO^t chromium products 
(metallurgical use) 



Figure 27. — Composition of cost-evaluated In situ demonstrated resource and percent- 
age of total chromite potential attributable to low- and high-grade metallurgical resources 
In the Philippines. 



64 




5.5x10^1 high-carbon 
ferrochromium availability 

Figure 28. — Distribution of potential high- 
carbon ferrochromium avaiiabiiity estimates, 
by ferrochromium product grade, from the 
Philippines. 



Total high-C ferrochromium potentially available 
from this demonstrated resource is estimated at 
5.5 million t, apportioned between product grade 
as shown in figure 28. 

Chromite production costs (as defined) are esti- 
mated to total $35.50/t for the high-grade re- 
sources, $101/t for the low-grade resource, and 
$67.50/t on a countrywide basis. The percentage 
contributions of mining, milling, and transporta- 
tion costs to the total operating cost for the high- 
and low-grade resources are given in figure 29. 
High-C ferrochromium production costs (as de- 




High - grode deposits Low-grode deposits 

Figure 29. — Percentage distribution between mining, milling, 
and transportation cost estimates (FOB port) for high- and 
low-grade metallurglcai resources, respectively, in the Philip- 
pines. 



fined) are estimated for the breakeven level at 
$0.37/lb contained Cr for all grade-A ferrochrom- 
ium products, $0.40/lb for grade B, and $0.54/lb 
for grade C. The planned ferrochromium smelter 
in the Philippines was estimated to break even at 
$0.40/lb contained Cr for the production of grade- 
A, high-C ferrochromium. 

Major implications are that, ferrochromium pro- 
duction in the Philippines will reduce the amount 
of high-grade metallurgical chromite available for 
export and represents a continuation of the trend 
toward ferrochromium production in those coun- 
tries that mine chromite ; secondly, the low-grade 
resources currently appear to be subeconomic 
both in terms of chromite and ferrochromium 
production costs. 



INDIA 



GEOLOLGY AND 
RESOURCES 

In 1975, India's total in situ demonstrated chromite 
resource was estimated at 17 million t. Recent work by 
the Geological Survey of India and the government's 
Mineral Exploration Co. has resulted in very large 
upward revisions of the total chromite resource ton- 
nage in India. The work involved reevaluation of re- 
sources at a cutoff grade of around 30 pet rather than 
the old standard of 40 pet CrjO,,, which was the basis 
for the total in situ estimate of 17 million t reported 
in 1975. The results of this program have only recent- 
ly been announced and then only in general terms. 
Total Indian chromite resources are now estimated to 
be 112 million t (49), 60 million of which is considered 
as "proven" (50, p. 454). It has been stated that 100 
pet of the "new" additional resource is located in 
Orissa State — with 80 pet of this tonnage in the Cut- 
tack District, 10 pet in the Dhenkenal District, and 
10 pet in the Keonjhar District (50, p. 459). These 
chromite resources represent about 98 pet of India's 
total known chromite resource with 96 pet located in 
Orissa State, and another 2 pet in Karnataka State. 
The resource in Orissa is essentially contained within 



two mining districts, Cuttack (Sukinda Valley) and 
Keonjhar. A third district, called the Dhenkenal, is 
located at the extreme southwestern end of the Sukin- 
da Valley and is considered as part of the Cuttack 
District for this study. A fourth district, Hassan, 
contains the resource of Karnataka State. 

For this study, the Bureau of Mines has estimated 
demonstrated in situ chromite resources at approxi- 
mately 81 million t with a weighted-average grade of 
32 pet CrzOg (table 40) . Of this total, 16 pet is high- 
grade material averaging 43 pet CraO,, and 84 pet is 
low-grade material averaging 30 pet CrjOg. There is 
contained within this demonstrated resource approxi- 
mately 26 million t of CrjOg. Identified resources are 
estimated at 108.5 million t, the additional 24.4 mil- 
lion t being entirely of low-grade material. 

On a district basis, the total demonstrated resource 
tonnage is distributed 85 pet to Cuttack and 12 pet 
to Keonjhar district of Orissa State, and 3 pet to 
Hassan District in Karnataka State. On a property- 
by-property basis, this total tonnage represents the 
estimated resource contained in about 43 different ore 
bodies-deposits — 30 in Cuttack, 10 in Keonjhar, and 3 
in the Hassan districts. 

The general indication now is that the majority of 



65 



Table 40. — Estimated in situ chromite resource data for selected Indian deposits, operations, and districts as of 1980 

r, •. „.„„ ^:„,^^ , Demonstrated resource, Weighted-average Contained^ Cr.O,, Identified resource^ 

Deposit-operation-distnctname ,03, grade', pet CrA lO^t 10^1 

Karnataka State: Hassan District: 

Byrapur 1,000 47.0 470 1,000 

Jambur-Tagadur 1,500 35.0 525 1,500 

Total or average 

Orissa State: 

Cuttack District: 

Low grade 

High grade 

Total or average 

Keonjhar District: 

Low grade 

High grade 

Total or average 

Orissa State total or average. . 

Grand total or average 81 ,230 "^2.0 26,000 108,500 

' In situ weighted-avarage at the demonstrated level. 

^ Data may not add to totals shown because of averaging and independent rounding. 

' Identified tonnage equals demonstrated plus inferred tonnage; where equal, there was insufficient Information to support an inference beyond the demonstrated 
level. 
" Country grade is the in situ weighted-average over all deposits at the demonstrated level. 



2,500 


40.0 


1,000 


2,500 


59,200 
10,120 


30.0 
43.0 


17,760 
4,352 


83,160 
10,120 


69,320 


32.0 


22,180 


93,280 


7,410 
2,000 


30.0 
40.0 


2.223 
800 


10,720 
2,000 


9,410 
78,730 


32.0 
32.0 


3,011 
25,000 


12,720 
106,000 



India's chromite resource available for future mining 
consists of medium-grade, medium Cr:Fe ratio ma- 
terial suitable for the production of grade-B ferro- 
chromium. The overwhelming majority of this 
medium-grade material will have to undergo relatively 
sophisticated and more costly beneficiation, resulting 
in the proportion of fines to lump ore production 
dramatically increasing from the present estimate of 
2:1. 

The possible potential beyond the tonnages men- 
tioned above is thought to be great. An unpublished 
report^s mentions that the total geologic potential in 
India could be as high as 700 million t of chromite- 
bearing material. The majority of this potential prob- 
ably lies in basically two areas : undiscovered deposits 
on the buried north limb of the Sukinda ultramafic 
syncline, and reevaluation of resources at an even 
lower cutoff grade than the present 30 pet CraOs- 



MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

According to the Tex Report (5i, p. 94), over 99 pet 
of total Indian production of chromite products during 
the mid- to late-1970's came from the Cuttack-Dhen- 
kenal, Keonjhar, and Hassan districts. 

Production amounts for a typical mining unit in 
India vary greatly from year to year. This is clearly 
illustrated by the Tex Report {51, p. 94), which identi- 
fied 22 "production units" with each "unit" usually 
consisting of several different quarries or pits. The 
mining methods in use are very labor intensive, which 
makes it easy to increase or decrease production rapid- 
ly as market conditions change. This flexibility also 
extends to the types of chromite products that are 
available from Indian chromite resources. For simpli- 
fication, the products can be organized into four basic 



"Confidential source. 



tjTpes: (1) high-grade fines and concentrates (>47 
pet CrsO.O. (2) medium-grade fines and concentrates 
(35-47" pet CraO:,), (8) low-grade lump (35-40 pet 
Cr20:,),and (4) high-grade lump (>40 pet (CrA)- 

The purpose of the foregoing discussion is to point 
out the complexity of the Indian chromite industry 
both in terms of the consistency of mining plans and 
in terms of the variety of products available. This 
complexity requires a certain amount of simplification 
in order to evaluate overall Cr availability. When 
dealing with India, any estimate of future mine capa- 
cities, types of chromite resource to be exploited, 
grade of feed material, and final products to be pro- 
duced, is subject to a very high degree of variation 
over a time period as short as just 5 yr. The scenario 
proposed for this study of the Indian chromite indus- 
try exists within certain boundaries established by 
the specific large-scale-exploitation assumptions out- 
lined below. It must be emphasized that this large- 
scale development scenario could diverge significantly 
from actual future developments within the chromite 
industry. The purpose here is to evaluate the maxi- 
mum potential of chromite and ferrochromium prod- 
ucts potentiallly available from a fully developed In- 
dian chromium industry. 

Table 41 defines the mining units and summarizes 
the mining data estimated for this analysis. The min- 
ing units shown represent a composite of what will, in 
reality, be many different individual mining opera- 
tions. Therefore, all mine capacities, in situ resource 
grades, operating costs, capital investments, mining 
and milling recoveries, and product grades, represent 
weighted averages for the mining unit (district) as a 
whole. 

Only about 6 pet of the total demonstrated chromite- 
bearing resource is proposed to be extracted using 
underground methods, while 94 pet is expected to be 
recoverable by surface methods. Because the additional 
low-grade resource has been added mostly by decreas- 
ing the cutoff grade from 40 to 30 pet, substantial 
amounts of material previously ignored in prior sur- 



Table 41. — Estimated mining data as evaluated in this study, India 



Deposit-operation-district 



Type of mining 
technology 



Average stripping ratio, ton Labor productivity \ 
waste per ton ore per worker-stiift 



Estimated crude ore, 
lO^tpy 



Estimated total product 
capacity, 10'tpy 



High grade 100 pet underground (cut and fill). 

Low grade Open pit, semimechanized 

Cuttack-Dhenkanal: 

High grade do 

Low grade do 

Keonjhar: 

High grade 50 pet surface, 50 pet underground. 

Low grade Open pit, semimechanized 

Total 



NAp 
6 



0.20 
.25 



110 
400 



70 
190 



110 
229 



70 
100 



NAp Not applicable. 

' Total mine labor plus staff. 



face operations would now be considered as economic- 
ally recoverable. 

The entire resource amenable to surface methods is 
estimated to have an average stripping ratio of ~7 over 
the entire life of the demonstrated resource evaluated 
for costs. In general, surface mining methods are not 
expected to change significantly from the labor-inten- 
sive, semimechanized pitting-quarrying operations in 
use over the last 30 yr. This method basically involves 
drilling and blasting of ore and waste, then excavation 
of waste, usually by front-end loaders, bulldozers, or 
small 1.5 to 2-cu m diesel shovels loading into very 
small trucks of about 5 t capacity. Manual labor is used 
for sorting, handling, and loading of ore and some 
waste. Ferro Alloys Corp. Ltd., (FACOR) does have 
plans to increase mechanization at its Bouala mine in 
the Keonjhar District, but operating costs are not 
expected to decrease significantly because the company 
expects the stripping ratio to increase by nearly 50 
pet. Because estimated productivities using semi- 
mechanized surface mining are very low, 0.25 to 0.30 
t per worker-shift, labor costs account for 70 to 75 
pet of operating costs ; equipment operation comprises 
an estimated 15 to 20 pet ; while materials and supplies 
contribute only about 10 pet. 

Underground mining is presently in use at the 
Byrapur operation of Mysore Minerals in the Hassan 
District. At Byrapur, the mining method employed is 
cut-and-fill, taking overhand slices and using sand fill 
pumped from the surface ; access is thought to be by a 
series of adits and inclines. Timber support is required 
and operations are estimated at 300 d/yr, two shifts 
per day. Ore is hand trammed in small (1-t) cars, and 
mining is estimated to be not more than 200 m at 
depth; mining recovery is estimated at 90 pet. This 
study also assumes that underground mining will be 
required for about 50 pet of the high-grade resource 
in the Keonjhar District operations. The Keonjhar 
underground operations were assumed to be similar 
to that at Byrapur, except that fill material should con- 
sist of waste material rather than sand, and access 
would probably be via an inclined shaft system. The 
mining plan is predicated on an assumed mining 
width of 10 to 15 m. 

Labor productivity for underground mining, at 
0.2 t per workershift, is estimated to be slightly less 
than for surface operations. Total underground operat- 
ing costs are, on average, around 50 pet higher than 
surface mining operating costs. 



Beneficiation of the chromite resource evaluated 
breaks down into two basic methods. The only bene- 
ficiation generally required for high-grade, chromite- 
bearing material is a hand-sort and screening opera- 
tion with essentially 100 pet recovery of the contained 
CraOg to produce a lump ore product and a fines ore 
product. For all the low-grade material it was as- 
sumed that the minimum amount of beneficiation re- 
quired would be two-stage jaw and roll crushing of 
material to minus 4-mm, sereening-washing-elassify- 
ing, and then two stages of gravity separation with 
flat and shaking tables. This is the method used at the 
Mysore Minerals pilot mill in the Hassan District, 
which has been in operation since 1977 or 1978. 
Studies of Orissa State's low-grade ores suggest that 
magnetic separation should probably be added for 
processing some of the Cuttack District low-grade 
material (52), but it is believed that this should be 
applied on an individual mine-deposit basis and not 
applied in an overall evaluation of the district. Overall 
recovery in treating low-grade material by gravity 
methods is assumed to be 80 pet. This recovery has 
been reported for the Hassan District pilot plant and 
is the expected recovery by FACOR at their Keonjhar 
District operations. However, lab-scale tests on seven 
different ores from both the Cuttack and Keonjhar 
districts had recoveries in the 60 to 85 pet range, 
hence 80 pet should be viewed as almost as high a 
recovery as can be reasonably expected. 

Estimated mill operating costs are composed of as 
much as 90 pet labor for the hand-sort-sereen method 
and about 25 pet for the gravity separation method. 
Equipment operation and materials and supplies 
each constitute about 10 pet of the costs in the hand- 
sort, screening method, while for gravity separation 
these two categories make up 40 and 35 pet, respective- 
ly, of the total cost. 



CHROMITE AVAILABILITY 

The potential availability of chromite ore and con- 
centrate products from the demonstrated resources of 
India is on the order of 43 million t, with an average 
grade of 46 pet CrjO,. This equates to a potential 
chromite availability of 543,000 tpy if all operations 
were producing at estimated capacity. This figure is 
only about 9 pet higher than peak production of 
500,000 t in 1975 and is considered realistic. Of the 



67 



potential 43 million t of chromite products, approxi- 
mately one-third is classified as high grade (>40 pet 
CrjOs) and two-thirds as low grade (<40 pet 
CrA). 

India's production of chromite products has de- 
creased since the mid-1970's and, although ostensibly 
attributed to reduced demand, this is mostly due to 
the imposition of controls by the Indian government 
on the domestic chromite industry as part of its con- 
servation policy. These controls include (1) banning 
the export of certain lump ores (40-42 -f- pet CrsO:, 
with low SiOa values) and fines ore (>47 pet CrsO,,) ; 
(2) export taxes on all other chromite products that 
are exported; and (3) export tonnage quotas imposed 
on all individual companies producing chromite prod- 
ucts for export. It is interesting to note that since 1975 
there has been an almost 1:1 correlation between 
declining annual production and declining annual ex- 
ports of chromite products. As of 1979, total country 
export quotas stood at 57,000 t of lump ore, 50,000 t 
of low-grade fines, and 10,000 t of concentrates. 

On a per-ton-of-product basis, nationwide mining 
costs average $41/t of chromite; beneficiation averages 
$4.50/t, and transportation $17.50/t of product, for a 
total production cost, FOB the port of exportation, 
of $63/t. Total (FOB) production costs for the high- 
grade material currently being produced in the Cut- 
tack and Keonjhar districts average $41/t and $58/t, 
respectively, and is even more competitive in light of 
the fact that it competes directly with Turkish, 



Iranian, and Soviet high-grade resources which are 
either more costly by this report's criteria or unavail- 
able as long term supply sources. It is thus clear that 
India, overall, possesses cost-competitive chromite ore 
and concentrate products. The major issues and con- 
straining factors surrounding the availability of chro- 
mite from India are not related to resources, tech- 
nology, or production costs, but rather to government- 
al policy concerning the conservation of high-grade 
resources, the further development of a major domestic 
ferrochromium industry, and transportation-infra- 
structural problems. 

Transportation (fig. 30) of chromite from the 
Keonjhar District is usually accomplished by trucking 
the ore and concentrate about 55 km southeast to the 
Bhadrack railhead on the Cuttaek-Calcutta railroad 
line. From Bhadrack it is about 100 km by rail to the 
city of Cuttack and 300 km by rail to Calcutta. If 
chromite products are to be exported via Paradip port 
to the southeast of Cuttack, it is probably more effi- 
cient to truck the chromite all the way from Bhadrack 
to Paradip, a distance of about 150 km, giving a total 
trucking distance of about 200 km from the Keonjhar 
mines. A 1979 proposal to construct an 80-km rail 
line from Cuttack to Paradip would allow shipments 
from Bhadrack to be railed to Paradip, but the status 
of this spur is not known at present. 

Chromite from the Cuttack District mines bound for 
export through Paradip port have to be trucked any- 
where from 150 to 170 km, mostly by an express high- 




500 1,000 



^ToCoimbotor* 



/v/ 


Scal.,l«m 


INDIAN OCEAN 




LEGEND 


O 


City and /or port 


^ 


Chromite district or mine 


b 


Ferrochromium smelter (existing) 


D, 


Ferrochromium smelter (proposed) 




■ Road or highwoy 


H — 1 — 1- 


- Railroad 



Figure 30. — Location of selected chromite mines and mining districts, current and proposed ferrochromium 
smelters, transportation network, and ports of exportation In India. 



way. If bound for Calcutta, the chromite would prob- 
ably be trucked 60 to 70 km to the city of Cuttack and 
railed an additional 400 l^m. 

The Hassan District of Karnataka State in western 
India currently utilizes the port facilities at Manga- 
lore for transshipment. This port is approximately 225 
km from the producing mine at Byrapur and would 
service the operations planned for the nearby Jambur- 
Tagadur area as well. Transport is via truck for about 
25 km to the Tiptur railhead for transshipment 200 
km by rail to the port. 

Within India there are no major distance or cost 
disadvantages to overcome, but the capacity of the 
railroads is severely strained. It has been estimated 
{53, p. 68) that 80 pet of all rail traffic in India carries 
coal, which is in great demand given the shortage of 
domestic oil production. Chromite must then compete 
for the remaining space against other, higher valued 
commodities. In addition, India's rail system is not 
computerized nor electrified. The Indian government 
has asked the World Bank for a $700 million loan to 
accomplish this, but the Bank has questioned the old 
freight rate policies that equalize costs across the sub- 
continent and is further concerned about the employ- 
ment effects upon those industries, such as coal, which 
can employ up to 70,000 women in a single manual 
coal-rail-loading operation {53, p. 68) . 

In addition, the government of India, in 1979, 
signed an agreement with the Soviet Union to supply 
them with 3 million tpy of iron ore from the mines in 
Orissa State. Since this material is to be exported 
through Paradip port on a preferred basis, and since 
Paradip is the major chromite-exporting point, it is 
anticipated that chromite shipments from India will be 
adversely affected. There is another major ore and 
bulk cargo handling facility at Visakhapatnam, which 
lies approximately 400 km south of Cuttack. It is 
accessible by highway and rail and can handle ships 
up to 100,000 DWT. The primary mineral commodities 
handled, however, are iron ore, coal, and alumina. 
Also, the additional cost of rail transport to this port 
could range from $20 /t to $25/t of product, and rail 
capacity availability is uncertain. The potential ex- 
pansion of the chromium industry in India, particular- 
ly as it concerns international trade, therefore de- 
pends not only upon the upgrading of the trans- 
portation infrastructure but upon the status of other 
developmental and trading issues as well. 

To summarize, India has recently proven very large 
tonnages of chromite-bearing material, the great ma- 
jority of which is low-grade material in Orissa State. 
Historically, India has been a major supplier of 
chromite products to Japan, which usually purchases 
most available supply. India's high-grade resources, 
which compete directly with other high-grade produc- 
ers such as Turkey and the Philippines and represent 
about one-third of potential chromite product avail- 
ability, have been banned from export. The volume of 
potential exports is further constrained by transporta- 
tion and portage problems, export quotas, and increas- 
ing domestic demand for chromite products for local 
ferrochromium production. The relative proximity of 
India to Japan, its historic chromite trading patterns, 
and the announced plans to further develop a domestic 



ferrochromium industry all mitigate against India 
becoming a major supplier of chromite material to 
the United States. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

At present (1981) there are only two small produc- 
ers of ferrochromium in India (fig. 30), the FACOR 
plant at Shreeram Bawar in Maharastra State and the 
Orissa State Industrial Development Corp's Jaipur 
Road smelter in the city of Cuttack, Orissa State. 
FACOR's plant has a design capacity to produce 
10,000 tpy of low-C ferrochromium, 5,000 tpy of high- 
C ferrochromium, and 4,000 tpy of ferrosilicon chro- 
mium. The Jaipur Road plant has a capacity to produce 
10,000 tpy of high- and low-C ferrochromium and 700 
tpy of ferrosilicon chromium. Both plants were com- 
missioned in 1969. 

Total country production of ferrochromium products 
has varied from 17,000 to 21,500 tpy during the mid 
to late 1970's. At this production rate it is estimated 
that about 50,000 to 60,000 tpy of chromite ore and 
concentrate would be consumed in ferrochromium 
production, roughly about 15 pet of India's total 
annual production during that period. However, plans 
have been proposed and, in some cases approved, to 
construct at least four additional ferrochromium smel- 
ters in the country : 

• A 50,000-tpy high-C ferrochromium smelter to be 
built by Orissa Mining Corp. in Orissa State 
with assistance by Outokumpu Oy of Finland and 
Voest Alpine of Austria. 

• A 50,000-tpy high-C ferrochromium smelter to be 
built by FACOR based on their own technology 
derived from the Garividi (Shreeram Bawar) 
plant in Maharastra State. 

• A 50,000-tpy high-C ferrochromium smelter to be 
constructed by Indian Metals and Ferroalloy's 
Ltd., also to be built in Orissa State with assist- 
ance by Elkem of Norway. 

• A 6,000-tpy ferrochromium smelter to be built at 
Byrapur in Karnataka State by Mysore Minerals 
Ltd., with Japanese assistance. 

If all of this ferrochromium smelting capacity 
(156,000 tpy) were to be built, it would consume an 
additional 350,000 tpy of chromite, bringing total in- 
ternal consumption for metallurgical use to about 
400,000 tpy. This means that, provided the country can 
maintain production of around 540,000 tpy of chromite 
ore and concentrate (the estimated maximum produc- 
tion capacity as of 1981), fully 75 pet would be con- 
sumed to feed the ferrochromium plants already plan- 
ned. This would leave 25 pet (—140,000 t) of (prob- 
ably low-grade) chromite product for export. This, of 
course, is a maximum potential scenario. 

Because of the developmental direction indicated by 
these plans, it was decided to analyze all of the Indian 
chromite "units" as if, by 1985, all output were being 
smelted to high-C ferrochromium in-country. It was 
decided to apply this scenario to all "units" in order to 
ascertain total potential availability of high-C ferro- 
chromium from the demonstrated resources that have 



been established, and, because of the impossibility of 
ascertaining what proportion of output from each of 
the six mining "units" should go to the planned smel- 
ters, what proportion would go to domestic chemical 
market uses, and what proportion would be exported. 

It is also impossible at this time to know for sure 
which, if any, of the proposed smelters will actually be 
built. As a result of this decision, all six mining 
units were burdened, proportionally, with estimated 
capital costs for ferrochromium production facilities 
incorporating all announced plans. In addition, the 
mining units in the Keonjhar and Cuttack districts 
were burdened with approximately $53 million (1981 
dollars) in infrastructure capital investments asso- 
ciated with constructing the ferrochromium facilities. 

To utilize total chromite product capacity of 540,000 
tpy for the domestic manufacture of high-C ferro- 
chromium would require a total smelting capacity of 
around 222,000 t, for a total capital plant investment 
of about $295 million. The majority of this cost is pro- 
rated to the low-grade material, since the planned 
smelters would utilize this resource the most. 

The total potential availability of high-C ferro- 
chromium determined as a result of this analysis is 
18.3 million t of grade-B ferrochromium (56 to 64 
pet contained Cr) or approximately 82 yr of potential 
full capacity production. The long-run average total 
cost of production at the breakeven level ranges from 
$0.21/lb to $0.25/lb ferrochromium, with a weighted- 
average of $0.23/lb, or about $0.40/lb of contained Cr. 
In order to attain a 15-pct long-run profitability level, 
sales prices of $0.33/lb to $0.46 /lb ferrochromium with 
a weighted-average of $0.38/ib, or $0.64/Ib of con- 
tained Cr would be required. These latter cost esti- 
mates are markedly higher because of the large 
capital investments, which require higher necessary 
sales prices in order to recover the total investment 
and attain this 15-pct rate of return. 

It would seem that India, which currently is a net 
importer of ferrochromium, could economically satisfy 
its domestic demand by the further expansion of its 
smelting capacity. The competitiveness of its ferro- 
chromium in the international market would be in 
question, however, given the overall predominance of 
South Africa, especially in terms of grade-B and 
grade-C ferrochromium products and the competitive- 
ness of the higher grade ferrochromium producers, 
such as Turkey, which have a distinct comparative 



advantage given that their industry is well established. 
Also, since the major market for Indian chromite 
products has been Japan it is uncertain if that market 
would become available for the sale of ferrochromium 
as opposed to chromite raw material. It is uncertain, 
at this time, whether all of the proposed ferro- 
chromium smelters will actually be built in the near 
future. Lastly, the aforementioned constraints con- 
cerning the expansion of chromite ore and concentrate 
production and export hold here as well. 



SUMMARY 

• Indian chromite resources at the demonstrated 
level are estimated to be 81.2 million t with a 
weighted average grade of 32 pet CrgOa, 97 pet of 
which is contained within Orissa State. 

• This cost-evaluated resource is estimated to con- 
tain a potential 43 million t of chromite products. 

• Total potential grade-B high-C ferrochromium 
availability is estimated at 18.3 million t. 

• Chromite production costs (as defined) are esti- 
mated at $63 FOB the port of exportation, appor- 
tioned $41/t of product for mining, $4.50/t of 
product for milling , and $17.50/t of product for 
transportation. 

• Domestic Indian high-C ferrochromium produc- 
tion costs (as defined) are estimated at $0.40/lb 
of contained Cr for the break-even level, and 
$0.64/lb of contained Cr for the 15-pct profit- 
ability level. 

• Major implications are that chromite export con- 
trols and increased domestic production of high- 
C ferrochromium in the future will reduce chro- 
mite products available for export. This represents 
a continuation of the trend toward ferrochromium 
production in those countries that mine chromite. 

• Since the above analysis of high-C ferrochromium 
availability was completed, two of the four pro- 
posed smelters have been constructed, the 50,000- 
tpy smelter of Orissa Mining Corp. in Orissa 
State and the 50,000-tpy smelter of FACOR, also 
in Orissa State, both of which initiated production 
in 1983. These developments further underscore 
the trend toward increased Indian high-C ferro- 
chromium production and export. 



BRAZIL 



GEOLOLGY AND 
RESOURCES 

Brazilian chromite resources at the identified level 
(measured plus indicated plus inferred) were officially 
set by the Departmento Nacional do Producao do 
Minerales (DNPM) in 1977 at approximately 24 
million t of ore. Of this, 57 pet was in the Campo 
Formoso District, 2 pet in the Jacurici River Valley 
deposits, 4 pet in the Alvarado do Minas area, and 



37 pet among about 100 "other" small occurrences 
nationwide (54, p. 24). (See figure 31 for locational 
details.) 

This study estimates total Brazilian chromite re- 
sources (table 42) for the in situ demonstrated level, 
at approximately 18.6 million t, and identified re- 
sources at about 39 million t. With a weighted-average 
demonstrated resource grade of 21 pet, it is estimated 
that a total of 3.9 million t of CrgOg is contained with- 
in this resource. 



70 




LEGEND 

City or town 

Mine or deposit 

Ferrochromium smelter 

Railroad 

Road or highway 



Figure 31. — Location of selected chromite mining operations, transportation network, ferrochromium smelter, and attendant port 
facility In Brazil. 



Table 42. — Estimated In situ chromite resource data for 
selected Brazilian deposits and operations, as of 1980 

non,«n».r,.«H ^f,=,»!!f' Contained Identified 

pet CrjOj 

Pedrlnhas (Cannpo 

FornDOSO) 13,000 21.0 2,730 1 „.„„ 

Limoeira (Campo f ^^'^^ 

Fomnoso) 4,000 17.0 680 "* 

Jacurici Valley' 1,110 37.4 415 1,180 

Alvorado do Minas' 525 26^5 139 850 

Total or average... 18,63S ^21.0 3,964 39,030 

^ Data may not add to totals shown t>ecause of averaging and Independent 
rounding. 

* Identified tonnage equals demonstrated plus inferred tonnage. 
' Not cost evaluated for reasons explained in text. 

* Country grade is the in situ weighted average over all deposits at the 
demonstrated level. 



For this study, a complete engineering and economic 
evaluation was performed for the extraction of the 
estimated 17 million t of demonstrated chromite in- 
cluded in the Campo Formoso District. This area cur- 
rently produces 87 pet of Brazil's chromite products. 
The resource is considered to be minable by open pit 
methods to a vertical depth of 50 m for the entire 14- 
km trend of the Campo Formoso District. The assump- 



tion is made that individual pits will be developed all 
along the strike and that no pit will go to underground 
mining until the entire strike length has been mined 
by surface pitting to a 50-m vertical depth. 

The deposits of the Jacurici River Valley and 
Alvarado do Minas areas, as well as the 100 or so 
other occurrences in the country, were not subjected 
to complete cost evaluation. There are three major 
reasons for this. First and most important, the level 
of individual deposit data at this point in time is too 
scant to meaningfully address the economic determi- 
nants. Second, reported production from the small 
individual mines and deposits is too variable to make 
a meaningful projection of capacity, mining methods, 
and the attendant costs. Third, the relative importance 
of these areas to an overall study of Brazil's chromium 
industry as it presently exists is virtually nonexistent. 
There is obvious potential for further expansion with- 
in these areas, but much more geologic knowledge 
must be obtained and larger ore bodies found for these 
areas to provide a significant contribution to the 
Brazilian chromite industry. 

The total resource available from underground min- 
ing in the Campo Formoso District could be on the 
order of 20 million t of 44 pet Cr,0<„ giving it sub- 
stantial potential. However, many questions regarding 
methodology of extraction remain to be answered be- 



71 



fore the economic potential of this resource can be 
determined. 

The chromite resources in the Campo Formoso area 
from the Pedrinhas and Limoeira operations are classi- 
fied as stratiform deposits. The chromite layers have 
been categorized into two basic ore types: (1) serpen- 
tinite containing more than 75 pet chromitite is 
considered as "high-grade" ore, and (2) serpentinite 
with 20 to 75 pet chromitite is considered as "low- 
grade" ore. Generally, the low-grade ores are economic- 
ally mined only where weathering has been intense 
enough to yield friable ore. Assuming that there is 
about 90 pet chromite in the chromitite and 50 pet 
CrjO., in chromite, then the low-grade ore would range 
from 10 to 35 pet CrjO, and the high-grade ore from 
35 to a theoretical 50 pet (where 100 pet of the 
chromitite is chromite) . Because the mechanized open 
pit operations presently producing cannot practice 
selective mining of the individual high-chromitite- 
grade layers, the overall grade of material fed to the 
mill runs about 21 pet CrgO^ from the Pedrinhas 
operation and 17 pet from the Limoeira operation, with 
Cr:Fe ratios ranging between 1.8 and 3.0. 



MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

The Campo Formoso District consists of three well- 
defined trends — Pedrinhas, Limoeiro, and Cascabulhos. 
The Pedrinhas and Cascabulhos trends have been com- 
bined into one operation which includes all the open 
pit operations of FERBASA, as well as the Coitzeiros 
open pits of COMISA, a subsidiary of the Bayer group 
of West Germany. The Limoeira trend was evaluated 
separately. 

Pedrinhas Operation 

Production from the Pedrinhas and Cascabulhos 
trends began in the 1960's. Until 1970, production did 
not exceed 40,000 tpy of crude ore. Major increases in 
capacity brought crude-ore production up to approxi- 
mately 250,000 tpy by 1972. As of 1980, capacity of 
the several open pit operations in the Pedrinhas and 
Cascabulhos trends was estimated to be 400,000 tpy 
of crude ore, and was the rate applied throughout the 
remaining life of the operation. The weighted-average 
stripping ratio over the life of this demonstrated 
resource tonnage is estimated to be 5.7. Thus, from 
1980 through the remaining life, it is estimated that 
on average about 2,268,000 tpy of waste and 400,000 
tpy of ore will have to be moved in order to produce 
120,000 tpy of chromite products. 

The mining plan incorporated the assumed necessity 
to drill and blast all material other than the colluvial 
overburden which can be simply dozed. No preproduc- 
tion stripping is required and clearing requirements 
are minimal. Operations were modeled on a two-shift- 
per-day, 300-d/yr basis. For this surface mining 
operation, the mining operating cost/t of crude ore is 
composed of 15 pet labor, 8.5 pet materials and sup- 
plies, and 76.5 pet equipment operation. Exploration 
and acquisition costs are relatively insignificant. 



For this study, it has been estimated that about 10 
pet of the resource for the combined Pedrinhas and 
Cascabulhos trends (to a vertical depth of 50 m) is 
lump ore with an average Cr:Fe ratio of about 2.0 to 
2.5; the remaining 90 pet is friable ore with lower 
grades and lower Cr:Fe ratios which must be concen- 
trated by gravity and magnetic separation to produce 
a 45-pct-Cr203 concentrate with a Cr:Fe ratio of 1.8. 

There are two processing mills for this resource, a 
1,000-tpd mill owned by FERBASA and a smaller 
333-tpd mill owned by COMISA. The FERBASA 
processing mill was constructed prior to 1965 and has 
been constantly expanded to its present capacity. The 
overall grade of crude ore feed to this mill averages a 
relatively low 21 pet CraOg, owing to dilution from 
barren rock and low-grade serpentinite-chromitite 
ore interspersed among the higher grade chromitite 
layers. This results from the necessity to practice non- 
selective mining of the resource. Mill recoveries for 
lump ores and grains, estimated to constitute 25 pet 
of salable product, are effectively 100 pet. Recovery of 
CraO.T in the concentrates, which represent about 75 
pet of salable product, is estimated to be very low at 
62.5 pet, based on reported results. Specific reasons for 
this low recovery are not definitely known but most 
likely are due to the intimate nature of occurrence of 
chromite with silicate and ferruginous gangue miner- 
als. 

The COMISA mill produces on the order of 20,000 
to 30,000 tpy of high-iron chromite concentrates, of 
which about two-thirds is sold to the domestic chemical 
industry and the remainder to FERBASA for use in 
the domestic manufacture of ferrochromium. The only 
apparent difference in the operating method from that 
of the FERBASA mill is the lack of some hand sort- 
ing of lump ore. 

Limoeira Operation 

In 1972, a joint venture was set up by FERBASA, 
which owned the mining concessions for the area east 
of the Limoeira fault, and several Japanese companies. 
The joint venture company, SERJANA, conducted a 
major exploration effort from May 1972 to late 1974, 
spending approximately $2 million. Mine development 
began in 1975, and the first products were shipped in 
December of 1976. The operation ran into grade and 
pit slope problems almost immediately. The overall 
grade encountered was much lower than expected be- 
cause selective mining was not possible. The stripping 
ratio, although initially estimated at 3, was running at 
5 only 2 yr after startup. In addition, it is estimated 
that to mine out all the resource to a 50-m vertical 
depth, the stripping ratio over the life of the operation 
will run about 11, or 3,410,000 tpy of waste to 310,000 
tpy of crude ore. In 1980, the Japanese members of 
the joint venture sold their interest to FERBASA. 

The mining plan requires drilling and blasting all 
material other than the colluvial overburden, which 
ranges from 5 to 15 m thick and can be dozed. Opera- 
tions are assumed to be conducted on a two-shift-per- 
day, 300-d/yr basis. Little or no preproduction strip- 
ping is required, and clearing is minimal. Mine operat- 



72 



ing costs per ton of crude ore are composed of 17 pet 
labor, 9 pet materials and supplies, and 74 pet equip- 
ment operation. Mining costs at Limoeiro, primarily 
as a result of the higher overall stripping ratio, should 
average 62 pet more than Pedrinhas over the mine life. 
The Limoeira mill was constructed in 1975-76. Its 
estimated capacity of about 1,033 tpd of crude ore 
throughout is based upon production figures, con- 
sideration of the resource position, and the increased 
stripping ratio encountered in the mine. It is assumed 
that 17 pet of salable product will be in the form of 
lump ore and grains and 83 pet will be in the form of 
concentrates. As the Limoeira mill does not employ 
magnetic separation, this results in a lower Cr:Fe 
ratio in the concentrates (■—1.5) and the CrjO, re- 
covery overall is slightly lower than at Pedrinhas. Mill 
operating costs for the major mills at Limoeira and 
Pedrinhas are not significantly different. Both costs 
are composed of approximately 20 pet labor, 43 pet 
materials and supplies, and 37 pet equipment operation 



Underground Mining Potential 

There is potential for underground mining at both 
the Pedrinhas and Limoeira operations in the Campo 
Formoso District. However, serious planning of under- 
ground mining will probably not have to be considered 
for at least 10 yr at Limoeira and 25 yr at Pedrinhas, 
since the estimated open pit resources at capacity 
production will last 12 and 32 yr, respectively. A rough 
estimate of the operating cost of underground mining 
at Campo Formoso, based on adopting methods similar 
to the breast stoping mining method in use in South 
Africa, would probably be $35/t to $40/t of ore 
(including development costs and excluding mine 
equipment and mine plant capital costs). However, 
underground methods such as breast stoping, although 
labor intensive, do allow for very selective mining and 
would probably reduce the concentration ratio from 
the 3.5 experienced in present open pit mining opera- 
tions, to the 1.5 or less typical of most underground 
chromite operations around the world. Thus, at an 
underground mining cost of $40/t of crude ore, the 
cost per ton of product would be about $60/t, which is 
similar to an open pit operation with a stripping ratio 
of 9 and a concentration ratio of 3.5. The Jacurici 
River Valley deposits could also be attractive for 
underground mining since little or no beneficiation is 
required and the concentration ratio is low. However, 
the small size of deposits in the Jacurici Valley may 
not justify the high initial development costs of a 
comparatively large underground mine. 

CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

The two operations herein evaluated have the poten- 
tial of producing approximately 4.6 million t of chro- 
mite products. Of this total, 82 pet is contained within 
the Pedrinhas and Cascabulhos trends of the Pedrin- 
has operation and 18 pet is contained within the 
Limoeira operation. If operated at full capacity, pro- 
duction would continue for 32 yr at Pedrinhas and 12 



yr at Limoeira. Combined output would approximate 
190,000 tpy of chromite products with a weighted- 
average grade of 44 pet CrgOg. 

Transportation distances from the major producing 
area of Campo Formoso in Brazil average approximate- 
ly 375 km to the ferrochromium smelter at Pojuca and 
about 450 km to the port of Salvador in Bahia State. 
The chromite is trucked from the mine site 30 to 40 
km to the railhead and transported by rail the remain- 
ing distance. Transportation costs for the two opera- 
tions are essentially equal and average in the inter- 
mediate range relative to the other countries studied. 
Transportation should not pose an economic deterrent 
to the expansion of chromite exports. 

There are significant economic differences, however, 
between the two operations studied. Because of the 
higher stripping ratio and lower in situ grade, the 
mine and mill operating costs per ton of chromite 
product at the Limoeira operation average 2.1 and 1.4 
times greater, respectively, than at the Pedrinhas 
operation. In addition, the concentration ratio averages 
around 3.3 at Pedrinhas and 4.4 at Limoeira, again 
giving an economic advantage to Pedrinhas material. 
On a country average this works out to be about 3.5 t 
of material mined per ton of ore and concentrate 
produced. 

The total cost over the life of the demonstrated 
resources to mine, process, and deliver chromite 
(FOB) the port of Salvador is estimated to be $96/t 
and $164/t for Pedrinhas and Limoeira, respectively. 
Thus, for Brazil, the overall costs to mine, process, 
and transport chromite, on a weighted-average country 
basis, are $65.50/t, $11.50/t, and $31.50/t, respective- 
ly, for a total of $108.50/t; relative to other world 
producers herein evaluated, Brazil is the second most 
expensive. It must be emphasized that these long-run 
costs were determined based upon extracting all sur- 
face minable material to a vertical depth of 50 m over 
the entire 14-km trend of the Campo Formoso District 
and take into consideration such factors as increasing 
stripping ratios and declining average grades. Current 
production costs are, of course, lower. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

Ferrochromium has been produced in Brazil since 
1966. Reported production of high- and low-C ferro- 
chromium and ferrosilicon chromium has increased in 
line with capacity expansions, rising from approxi- 
mately 3,000 t in 1966 (5^, p. 26) to 102,000 t in 1980 
(55, p. 3). Since 1974, production of high-C ferro- 
chromium as a percentage of total production has 
averaged 85 pet. 

There is one ferrochromium smelter in the country, 
owned by FERBASA, located at Pojuca, about 75 km 
north of the Port of Salvador. Rated capacity as of 
1980 for the seven furnaces at Pojuca was approxi- 
mately 90,000 tpy. The products produced are: grade- 
B, high-C ferrochromium, low-C ferrochromium (68 
pet contained Cr), as well as ferrosilicon chromium. 
If the facility were to operate at this rated capacity, 
producing only high-C ferrochromium, it would need 



73 



the entire output of chromite ore and concentrate 
production from the Pedrinhas and Limoeira opera- 
tions, as evaluated in this study, as well as the pro- 
duction from the Jacurici River Valley deposits. How- 
ever, this would leave no chromite available for export. 

Present mining and milling capacity is sufficient 
only for in-country ferrochromium smelting, which is 
indicated by the fact that the only chromite exported 
from Brazil during 1975-80 came from the SERJANA- 
operated Limoeira mine and was sent to Japan. With 
the sale of the Japanese interest to FERBASA, all 
production from Limoeira can now be sent to the 
Pojuca smelter. It is indicated that to further increase 
the capacity of the Pujuca smelter would require 
either increasing capacity at the present mines, im- 
proving the grade of ore mined by selective mining 
techniques, or opening up new mines by proving up 
reserves at the many "other" occurrences throughout 
the country. 

It has been estimated that domestic demand for 
ferrochromium in Brazil should rise to a total of 
110,000 t by 1987 (5^, p. 31). This 20,000-t increase 
in smelting capacity would require approximately 
50,000 tpy of lump ore and concentrate feed, which in 
turn would require approximately 175,000 tpy of addi- 
tional crude ore production if the chromite products 
from the present operations in the Campo Formoso 
District were used. Such an increase would not be 
difficult to attain given the present producers' installed 
capacity. However, the country would be hard pressed 
to produce additional chromite for export unless new 
mines were opened. 

It is estimated here that approximately 1.9 million 
t of grade-B ferrochromium could be produced from 
the demonstrated resources contained within the two 
operations studied if the Pojuca smelter were devoted 
entirely to the production of high-C ferrochromium. 
The Pedrinhas operation would account for 54 pet of 
total smelter output and 82 pet of available ferro- 
chromium from the two evaluated operations com- 
bined. On an annual basis, production could average 
78,000 tpy from the Pedrinhas and Limoeira opera- 
tions, with the remaining 12,000 tpy being produced 
from chromite production at the other, smaller mines. 

Both Pedrinhas and Limoeira appear, on a relative 
basis, to be cost competitive with other world producers 
of grade-B, high-C ferrochromium. The price determi- 
nations at the breakeven level on a country basis 
would average $0.25/lb ferrochromium or $0.43/lb 
contained Cr. To obtain a long-term 15-pct rate of 
return would require a necessary sales price of $0.30/ 
lb ferrochromium, or $0.52/lb contained Cr. Again, 
the economic differences between the operations are 
apparent as Limoeira requires a price between 17 and 



29 pet higher, depending upon the rate of return 
sought, than Pedrinhas. 

As far as being a potential source of supply of 
chromite and ferrochromium to the United States, 
Brazil appears to have, at this point in time, only 
limited potential. However, it bears repeating that 
this study analyzed only the demonstrated resources 
from the Campo Formoso District that are minable 
by open pit methods. There is a substantial under- 
ground resource that may be exploitable in the future 
and there is also potential for the future proving up of 
resources elsewhere in the country. 

These future developments hinge on two major fac- 
tors. The lirst and most important is the cost com- 
petitiveness of Brazil in the world market for chro- 
mite and ferrochromium, and the second is the de- 
velopmental objectives and priorities of the Brazilian 
government. It would appear that Brazil can adequate- 
ly meet its future domestic demand for ferrochromium 
but would not have major tonnages available for ex- 
port. It must be remembered that Brazil's contribution 
to the world ferrochromium industry is dependent not 
only upon the state of the world steel industry, but the 
growth and competitive position of the domestic 
Brazilian steel industry as well. 



SUMMARY 

• A total in situ demonstrated resource of 17 mil- 
lion t was cost evaluated. 

• This demonstrated resource is estimated to con- 
tain a potential 4.6 million t of chromite products 
with an average grade of 44 pet CrjOg. 

• Total grade-B, high-C ferrochromium potentially 
available from this demonstrated resource is esti- 
mated at 1.9 million t. 

• Chromite production costs (as defined) are esti- 
mated at $65.50/t for mining, $11.50/t for mill- 
ing, and $31.50/t for transportation, which re- 
sults in a long-run cost estimate, FOB the port of 
Salvador, of $108.50 /t of product. 

• Ferrochromium production costs (as defined) are 
estimated at $0.43/lb of contained Cr for the 
breakeven level and $0.52/lb of contained Cr at 
the 15-pct profitability level. 

• Major implications are that Brazil should be able 
to meet its projected domestic ferrochromium con- 
sumption needs and continue to export relatively 
small quantities of ferrochromium products, but 
does not hold much promise as a major available 
source of imported chromite for the United States 
at this time. 



74 



FINLAND 



GEOLOGY AND 
RESOURCES 

The Kemi chromite deposits are located at Elijarvi, 
about 7 km northeast of the town of Kemi on the north- 
ern end of the Gulf of Bothnia (fig. 32) . The chromite 
ores are associated with a basic-ultrabasic, sill-like 
intrusion at the contact between the Pudasjarvi mig- 
matite-granite massif and the Karelian schist area of 
Perapohja (56). The sill-like intrusion reaches a 
maximum width of 1,500 m with outcrops beginning 
at the town of Kemi and extending for 15 km to the 
northeast. In the vicinity of the present mining opera- 
tions, the chromite horizon occurs 50 to 200 m from 
the bottom contact of the sill and basically parallels 
the northeast strike of the contact. 

The intrusive host has a dip of 70° to the northeast. 
The ore bodies are strongly brecciated and thus con- 
tain many inclusions of altered wall-rock gangue such 
as talc, magnesite, dolomite, and serpentinite. The 
ores can be classified into two types ; a soft talcose ore 
and a hard serpentinite ore, with the former account- 
ing for 85 pet and the latter 15 pet of the total. The 
grade of the ore is fairly low, averaging about 27 pet 
C2O3 with a Cr:Fe ratio of about 1.5 reflecting di- 
lution with gangue material. 

Of the total 15-km length of the intrusive formation, 
economic ore bodies occur only in a 5-km length 
located north and northeast of the town of Elijarvi. 



As of the mid-1970's, eight ore bodies were known to 
occur over this 5-km length. The ore bodies are named 
(from southwest to northeast, see figure 32), Mati- 
lainen, Surmanoja, Nuottijarvi, Elijarvi, Viiaanranta, 
Viianlahti, Viianmaa, and Perukka. 

The first open pit mining began in 1967 at the 
Elijarvi ore body and continued through 1977, when 
a new pit (Viaa) was brought into production to 
mine the Viiaanranta and Viianlahti ore bodies. At 
the start of operations in 1967 it was estimated that 
the Elijarvi ore body contained a total of 14.5 million 
t of ore, 5.7 million t of which could be mined by open 
pit methods. It is estimated that prior to closing in 
1977 about 5.5 million t of ore had been extracted 
from the Elijarvi ore body by open pit methods. The 
relatively new Viaa pit is estimated to contain 6.3 
million t of resource amenable to open pit mining to a 
depth of 110 m at a stripping ratio of 2.7. 

Based upon a comparison of ore body dimensions 
within the Viaa pit to the dimensions of the other 
available ore bodies, and assuming that there is a 
correlation between ore body dimensions and available 
material suitable for open pit mining, then the total 
demonstrated resource as of 1979 for surface mining 
of all the ore bodies lies in a range from 25 to 30 mil- 
lion t. This study assumes that the maximum amount 
of demonstrated resource, less 1979 production, is 
available (29.2 million t) at an overall stripping ratio 
of 3 t of waste per ton of ore. There is potential for 





1 / 




^Perukka 


<:w 


_^X -N- 


Kemi mine 


/viianlaMa 
— C Viianlahti^ J 

X ->..^ ''/Ivilanranta 


I 


/( 


Matilalne^^ 


(/^^\^ \ 


rf 






X 0. /^A" 


Scale, km 





LEGEND 
City 


fn} 




Mine 

Ferrochromium smelter 


I N 


L 


ih 


Mine facilities 


S V 


•^^ 


~^ '^ 


-Ore body 


^ 


100 200 300 






Scale, km 



Figure 32. — Location of Kemi chromite mine, transportation network, smelting, and 
In Finland. 



75 



the future exploitation of underground chromite re- 
sources at Kemi, although this is a very long-term is- 
sue given that the demonstrated resources available 
for open pit mining could last up to 40 yr. A pre- 
liminary estimate of this resource is that it may be 
on the order of 30 million t; however, numerous tech- 
nical issues, such as the weakness of the ore and wall- 
rock material, must be further studied before any 
economic evaluation can be made. 



MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

The Kemi mine employs open pit mining methods 
for the exploitation of its low-grade ore. The open pit 
is constructed with low bench heights, which allow 
for selective mining of the widely varying ore bodies. 
The mining development plan derived for the engineer- 
ing cost evaluation of the Kemi mine includes the cost 
of mining all eight ore bodies sequentially over the 
mine life with open pit methods. Stripping ratios over 
all remaining ore bodies are assumed to average 
around 3. Total mine recovery of all chromite ore 
should effectively be 100 pet, including dilution. The 
mine operating cost that was estimated for the mine 
life includes the necessity to truck ore from the mine 
site to the mill an average of 3 km over the life of all 
ore bodies, and also includes all preproduction develop- 
ment costs. Current mine operating costs per ton of 
ore are relatively low and are not expected to increase 
significantly in the future as a result of technical or 
geologic problems. 

As the ore is mined, it is separated into lump ore 
for direct shipping and into feed for the on-site mill. 
Principal mill phases are crushing, grinding, and wet 
and dry magnetic separation to produce either a con- 
centrate for feed to the Tornio ferrochromium smelter 
or direct sale, or a concentrate for use as raw material 
for further processing to chromite foundry sand. 
Overall mill recovery for all products averages 85 pet. 
However, the weighted-average grade of all products 
is a very low 31 pet CrgO, reflecting the large amount 
of production that is sold as direct shipping ore. 



CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

The Kemi mine is one of the least expensive major 
producing chromite operations in the world. This 
property has a potential of producing approximately 
17 million t of 31 pet CraO,, high-iron chromite over 
the next 36 yr. Operating at a mine capacity of 
800,000 tpy of ore, with a concentration ratio of 1.6, 
this would represent about 475,000 tpy of chromite 
products. In addition, approximately 2.5 million t of 
foundry-grade concentrate is potentially recoverable, 
which at capacity production would approach 69,000 
tpy. 

Despite the relatively low grade of the ore and the 
adverse weather conditions, the government-owned 
company, Otokumpu Oy, can produce chromite for a 
combined mining, processing, and transportation cost, 



FOB the port of Ajos, of only $25/t of product over 
the life of the mine. There are basically three reasons 
for this. First, the stripping ratio is relatively low 
for a surface chromite mine, which reflects the rela- 
tively steep dip of the ore bodies. Second, since it is 
possible to practice selective mining, this allows the 
concentration ratio to remain relatively low. Third, 
the deposit is advantageously located with respect to 
infrastructure and port facilities. The Tornio inte- 
grated steel works has the capacity to consume about 
30 pet of the chromite ore and concentrate for the 
domestic manufacture of high-C ferrochromium. The 
remaining tonnage is available for export, with the 
Vargon ferroalloy smelter in Sweden being the closest 
consumer for metallurgical purposes. The Kemi mine 
enjoys a clear locational advantage for the sale of 
its high-iron chromite and foundry sands to the mar- 
kets of northern Europe, Scandanavia, and the 
COMECON member states of eastern Europe. Fin- 
land is not a member of the EEC. The United States, 
as of the late 1970's, derived between 3 and 4 pet of 
its chromite imports from Finland. 

The mining operation at Kemi faces no major trans- 
portation problems of note. Mine output is trans- 
ported either to the Finnish ferrochromium smelter at 
Tornio, at a distance by truck of around 50 km, or to 
the port of Ajos at the town of Kemi, about 20 km 
away from the mine site, for transshipment to the 
Vargon smelter in Sweden or for export to other coun- 
tries. The Tornio steel facility utilizes the outport 
facilities at Roytta, which from about mid-December 
to mid-May is generally frozen over. The facilities at 
these ports pose no major constraints for the exporta- 
tion of Kemi chromite and ferrochromium products. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

The Tornio integrated steel works is a state-owned 
enterprise operated by Otokumpu Oy. It includes a 
ferrochromium smelter, constructed in 1968 and sub- 
sequently expanded, with a current rated capacity of 
50,000 tpy. The smelting process incorporates pelletiz- 
ing with a sintered-pellet capacity of 120,000 tpy. Al- 
though Otokumpu Oy maintains the stated objective 
of doubling its steelmaking capacity at Tornio, which 
would necessitate a concomitant expansion of the fer- 
rochromium plant, this goal is a long-term one with 
no fixed timetable. For this reason no capacity ex- 
pansion beyond the current 50,000 tpy was incorpor- 
ated into this analysis. 

At current rated capacity, the Tornio smelter would 
utilize about 30 pet of the annual chromite production 
from Kemi given an 800,000 tpy of crude ore mine 
output. For purposes of establishing the cost and 
quantity of ferrochromium potentially available from 
the demonstrated resource at Kemi, the remaining 
chromite output above the capacity limit at Tornio 
was transported to the Vargon ferroalloy smelter in 
Sweden. All smelter operating and transportation costs 
were put on a weighted-average basis to account for 
this. The cost determination of $0.31/lb contained Cr 
that was derived on this basis, therefore, represents 



76 



the average breakeven long-run cost of high-C fer- 
rochromium, FOB the Vargon and Tornio smelters. 
Since this very low cost determination still represents 
a correspondingly higher cost than if 100 pet of 
Kemi's output was utilized at the Tornio smelter, it 
further underscores the basic long-run competitiveness 
of this resource. 

The total quantity of grade-C charge ferrochromi- 
um that is potentially recoverable from the demon- 
strated resource at Kemi is approximately 5.4 million 
t. On an annual-capacity basis, this represents a 
potential product flow of 800,000 tpy of mine output 
yielding a high-iron chromite mill output of 475,000 
tpy, which in turn yields an average 150,000 tpy of 
high-C ferrochromium over a total period of 36 yr. 
Given that internal consumption at capacity operation 
of the Tornio smelter would utilize roughly one-third of 
the potential chromite resource at Kemi, Finland 
should remain an available supplier of chromite and 
ferrochromium for the remainder of this century. 



SUMMARY 

• A total in situ demonstrated resource of 29.2 mil- 
lion t was cost evaluated. 

• This demonstrated resource is estimated to con- 
tain a potential 17.1 million t of high-Fe chromite 
products at an average grade of 31 pet CrgOs for 
further processing to high-C ferrochromium. 

• Total grade-C, high-C ferrochromium potentially 
available from this demonstrated resource is 
estimated at 5.3 million t. 

• Chromite production costs (as defined) are esti- 
mated at $9.50/t for mining, $6.50/t for milling, 
and $9.00/t for transportation, which results in 
a long-run cost FOB the port of Ajos of $25/t. 

• High-C ferrochromium production costs (as de- 
fined) are estimated for the breakeven level at 
$0.31/lb contained Cr. 

• Major implications are that Finland should re- 
main a major exporter of both chromite and ferro- 
chromium for the rest of this century. 



NEW CALEDONIA 



GEOLOGY AND 
RESOURCES 

Late in 1980, INCO Metals Inc. announced plans to 
bring an 85,000 tpy chromite mining and processing 
operation into production at Tiebaghi in New Cale- 
donia (57, p. 100) . The deposit to be mined is reported- 
ly located beneath the former open pit operations which 
ceased production in the early 1960's after producing 
around 2 to 2.5 million t of ore since the early 1900's. 
At these deposits, initial underground mining opera- 
tions were started in the early 1960's, after closure of 
the open pits, but ceased in 1962 owing to poor eco- 
nomics. Past literature does not contain much detailed 
geologic information on the Tiebaghi chromite de- 
posits and INCO has not released geologic details on 
the "new" deposit. For these reasons, an estimate of 
available chromite resources at Tiebaghi, as well as 
deposit characteristics for complete costing purposes, 
are only approximated at this time. 

The Tiebaghi chromite district is located near the 
northwest tip of New Caledonia, about 7 km north 
of the village of Pagoumene (fig. 33). The Tiebaghi 
serpentine dome has a length of about 19 km, extend- 
ing in a northwesterly direction from the village of 
Koumac to Nehoue Bay. The dome's width is about 5 
km. The old Tiebaghi mining operations were located 
at the dome's point of maximum elevation of 580 m 
(58, p. 616). The dome consists mainly of peridotite, 
dunite, pyroxene, and Harzburgite-olivine rocks. The 
major chromite ore bodies occur in the central portion 
of the dome at the northeastern edge of a plateau. 

Since it is not known with certainty which ore 
bodies INCO intends to mine in the Tiebaghi area, the 
exact dimensions and configuration are speculative. 
Blanchard (58) , in a description from the early 1940'8, 



describes the mining operations at Tiebaghi as 
being concentrated on two "pipes"; the Tiebaghi and 
the Fantoche pipes. He states that the Tiebaghi pipe 
occupied an area of 30 by 60 m and was proven to a 
depth of 400 m. No areal extent for the Fantoche pipe 
was given, but it was mentioned that it had also been 
proven to approximately the same depth as the Tie- 
baghi pipe. 

As of late 1979, official reserves for Tiebaghi, as 
reported by the Service des Mines et de la Geologie, 
were placed at less than 1 million t at an average grade 
of 55 pet CrA and a Cr:Fe ratio of 3 to 3.6 (59). 
However, standard leasing practice by the government 
of New Caledonia specifies that a mining lease will not 
be granted by the government to any operation with 
less than a 20-yr resource life. Based on this law, it is 
estimated that the proposed INCO operation must 
have at least 2.3 million t of in situ resource. This 
estimate was calculated based on a published (60, p. 
39) projected run-of-mine ore capacity of 110,000 tpy 
and assumes a mining recovery of 95 pet. Back-cal- 
culation from these published run-of-mine and product 
capacities indicates that the high-grade ore should 
average around 44 pet CrgOj with a Cr:Fe ratio of 3. 
These data were employed in the engineering and 
economic analysis. 

Comparison with the published dimensions of the 
pipelike ore bodies mined previously in the Tiebaghi 
area indicates that this 2.3 million t could be considered 
as conservative. If the material planned to be mined 
by INCO is, in actuality, ore remaining in the Tie- 
baghi and Fantoche pipes, then there certainly is at 
least 2 million t remaining since open pit mining was 
terminated at a depth of 240 m in the Tiebaghi pipe 
and 100 m in the Fantoche pipe, leaving 160 and 300 m 
of depth extension, respectively, to be exploited. 



77 





y^lttm* ' 






LEGEND 
O City 


\V^ 






X Mine 


Tiebaghi deposir^ ^^ 

1 \ 

-N- N 

1 




COffAL 

SEA 








^«^ 




°-:>- 


100 


200 




Scale, km 





Figure 33. — Location of Tiebaghi chromlte mine In New Caledonia. 



MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

The Tiebaghi mine is evaluated as an underground 
mining operation, utilizing cut-and-iill stoping, and 
designed for a 440-tpd production rate with a mine 
recovery of around 95 pet. Access is via development 
of new vertical shafts. Mine operating cost per ton of 
ore is composed of approximately 55 pet labor, 30 pet 
materials and supplies, and 15 pet equipment opera- 
tion. Based on announced production plans the mine 
would operate at full capacity on a 250-d/yr basis. 

Benefieiation of this ore is proposed to be by crush- 
ing, screening, and gravity separation to produce 340 
tpd of concentrate with an overall mill recovery of 90 
pet. Mill operating costs are composed of approximate- 
ly 50 pet labor, 25 pet materials and supplies, and 25 
pet equipment operation. 



CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

In 1982, chromite production began at the Tiebaghi 
mine with initial mill product output being sold on the 
spot market {61, p. 49). Full capacity production of 
85,000 tpy of salable product is expected to be reached 
by 1983. This output represents a production life of 
20 yr at full capacity operation. At a product grade of 
51 pet, it is estimated that 1.7 million t of chromite is 
potentially available from the 2.3-million-t in situ 
resource. 

On a per-ton-of-product basis, the mine operating 
cost is estimated at approximately $42.50/t, benefieia- 
tion cost at $7/t, and transportation cost (FOB the 
port of exportation) at $7/t, for a total cost over the 
mine life of about $56.50 /t. The transportation cost is 



based upon trucking the chromite approximately 10 km 
to a nearby portage for transshipment via barge to an 
ocean freighter for final shipment, probably to Japan 
if long term contracting can be arranged. Transport 
charges to Japan would depend upon market circum- 
stances and the availability and terms of any con- 
tracts made with the Japanese. Relative to the internal 
cost and difficulties of transport faced by other coun- 
tries, the delivered cost of chromite to Japan from 
New Caledonia should be quite competitive. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

There are currently no ferrochromium smelting fa- 
cilities in New Caledonia, nor are there any current 
advanced plans for procuring them. In order to ascer- 
tain the cost of producing grade-A, high-C ferro- 
chromium from the demonstrated resource of the Tie- 
baghi operation, the total annual output of chromite 
was assumed to be transported to Japan for process- 
ing. All relevant transportation, handling, and smelt- 
ing costs were incorporated into the economic analysis. 
The results indicate that approximately 36,000 tpy, 
or a total of 726,000 t, of grade-A, high-C ferro- 
chromium could potentially be produced from the Tie- 
baghi demonstrated resource. The cost determination 
ranges from $0.25/lb ferrochromium at the breakeven 
level, to $0.29/lb for a 15-pct rate of return, or $0.38/ 
lb to $0.44/lb contained Cr. 

Relative to the cost determinations derived for the 
same grade ferrochromium product produced in Japan 
from high-grade Philippine chromite products, the 
Tiebaghi resource costs $0.08/lb of contained Cr less 
at a 15-pct profitability level. This indication of relative 
competitiveness explains the activity underway for the 



78 



development of New Caledonian chromite resources. It 
bears mentioning, however, that total ferrochromium 
availability estimate from the Tiebaghi mine repre- 
sents only 30 pet of the potential tonnage available 
from the high-grade resources that have been evalu- 
ated in the Philippines, which competes with New 
Caledonia for the Japanese market. 



SUMMARY 

• A total in situ demonstrated resource of 2.3 mil- 
lion t was cost evaluated. 

• This demonstrated resource is estimated to con- 
tain a potential 1.7 million t of chromite products 
with an average grade of 51 pet CrgOj. 



Total grade A, high-C ferrochromium potentially 
available from this resource is estimated at 
726,000 t. 

Chromite production costs (as defined) are esti- 
mated at $42.50/t for mining, $7/t for milling, 
and $7/t for transportation, which results in a 
long-run total cost estimate (FOB) of $56.50/t. 
High-C ferrochromium production costs (as de- 
fined) are estimated, for the breakeven level, at 
$6.38/lb of contained Cr on a Japan-market 
basis. 

The major implication is that all chromite output 
should most likely go to Japan as raw material 
feed for the production of high-C ferrochromium. 



GREECE 



GEOLOGY AND 
RESOURCES 

As shown in figure 34, there are 12 ultramafic rock 
complexes in Greece that contain chromite deposits- 
occurrences. Of these 12 complexes, only four are of 
large proportions, one of which is the Mount Vourin- 
hos Complex in north central Greece. In general, 
refractory-grade chromite is mainly connected with 



the ophiolites of central Greece where the chromite ore 
bodies are closely associated with gabbroic rocks (62) . 
Metallurgical-grade chromite is found in the ophiolite 
complexes of northern Greece, where they are asso- 
ciated with dunitic and peridotitic rocks. 

Almost all of Greece's past production of metallurgi- 
cal-grade chromite has come from either the Xeroli- 
vado (Skoumsta) area deposits or the Voidolakkos 
area deposits, all of which are part of the Mt. Vourin- 



Ml. Vourinos 
Complex 




LEGEND 
O City 

■i Ferrochromium smelter 
r^ Ophiolite complexes 



100 200 

\ I 

Scola.km 



Figure 34. — Location of ophiolite complexes, Xerollvado chromite mine, and ferrochromium smelter In 
Greece. 



79 



has (ophiolite) Complex. Of this past production, the 
majority has come from the Xerolivado mine (also 
called the Skoumsta mine) located 2 km west-north- 
west of the town of Skoumsta. 

This study evaluated the cost and availability of 
high-chromium (metallurgical-grade) chromite from 
the Xerolivado mine. There are four other areas that 
could hold future potential. The Voidolakkos area de- 
posits, 15 km northwest of Xerolivado, are or were, 
high-grade, massive, metallurgical-grade ores. As of 
the late 1960's, only 20 podiform ore bodies were 
known in the area, and they were very small in size, 
ranging from only 1,000 to 10,000 t apiece (62). 
It is possible that the 20 known deposits were mined 
out as of 1980 although definite knowledge to that 
effect is not known. An unpublished source^^ states 
that promising prospects are located at Aetoraches, 
Koursoumia, and Kerasitsa. Published information 
(63, p. 529) indicates that the deposit at Aetoraches 
contains 600,000 t. All three of these areas are 
located in the northern half of the Mt. Vourinhos 
Complex and have been indicated to play a role in the 
country's expansion of capacity to feed the proposed 
ferrochromium smelter. However, not enough is known 
about these recent discoveries to evaluate them at 
present. 

The Xerolivado deposits are located in the southern 
portion of the Mt. Vourinhos Complex, 280 km north- 
west of Athens and 125 km southwest of the port of 
Salonica. The entire Mt. Vourinhos complex covers an 
area of 250 sq km and is composed of interlayered 
peridotites and dunites. Peridotites predominate, oc- 
cupying an area of 200 sq km in a 25-km long trend 
following the regional northwest strike. Chromite ore 
bodies are associated with and confined to the dunite 
bands (63). At Xerolivado, the chromite ore is entire- 
ly of the banded type (schlieren). The grade of the 
ore is low, at around 18 to 20 pet Cr„0., using a cut- 
off grade of 15 pet. The Xerolivado mining area can 
be divided into three sections separated by two major 
fault zones. They are referred to as the northeast, 
central, and southwest sectors. 

Mining was begun in 1952 on the three outcropping 
ore bodies (lenses) in the northeast sector. This sector 
is now essentially mined out. Present production is 
entirely from the central sector where seven separate 
ore lenses (numbered from 7 to 13) have been outlined 
by underground workings. At the 910-m level, lenses 
13, 12, 11, and 10 have been proven to extend for 300 
m along a northeast to southwest trend, while lenses 
9, 8, and 7 extend on average for 200 m along this same 
trend. The ore lenses have thicknesses ranging from 
1 to 13 m and extend for depths of around 100 to 150 
m. The ore itself consists of coarse to medium grained 
chromite intermixed with dunite gangue, and the 
Cr:Fe ratio of concentrates produced from Xerolivado 
ore is around 3. 

The southwest sector has been explored in detail 
only in the past 2 to 3 yr, during and since develop- 
ment of a 2,200-m exploration-production adit. As of 
1980, extensions of four of the seven lenses in the 



central sector had been intersected in the southwest 
sector. However, no details of dimensions of the lenses 
intersected is currently available. Attitudes of the 
lenses show a progressive decrease from near vertical 
in the northeast sector to subhorizontal in the lower 
levels of the southwest. This decrease in attitude has 
led to the postulation that the deposits in the central 
and southwest sectors could link up with similar ore 
bodies 3 km to the south in a broad synclinal structure 
which would add significantly to the potential of the 
area (63). 

Any estimate of chromite resources in the Xerolivado 
area contains many unknowns. Unpublished esti- 
mates^'^ as of 1981 were that the central sector con- 
tained 500,000 t at a proven level and 200,000 t at a 
probable-possible level, while the southwestern sector 
was estimated to contain 100,000 t at a proven level, 
400,000 t at a probable level, and 1,100,000 t at a pos- 
sible level. This gives a total of 2.2 million t of ore at 
all levels of probability. This is considered to be a 
conservative estimate because of the possibility of a 
synclinal extension to the southwest, the relative lack 
of indications of pinching out of the lenses, and the 
fact that some of the lenses have proven strike lengths 
of 1,000 m. 

However, for economic analysis, the estimated dem- 
onstrated resource at the Xerolivado mine that is 
costed for this study is the conservative 2.2 million t 
of in situ ore with an average grade of 18 pet Cr^O.,. 
Contained Cr^Og is estimated at 396,000 t. 



MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

The low-grade chromite at Xerolivado has been 
mined since 1952, with mining beginning as surface 
pits in the northeast sector where the ore bodies out- 
cropped. By the late 1950's access to two sectors, the 
northeast and central, had been developed by sinking 
two inclined shafts. By 1981, a 2,200-m-long explora- 
tion-production adit had been completed to access the 
southwest sector. The portal is near the site of the 
new beneficiation plant to be constructed in the near 
future. Two internal shafts were also raise-bored from 
the adit to the level 150 m above. It is estimated that 
about 1 million t of ore has been extracted over the 
years 1952 through 1979-80 from the Xerolivado 
operations (northeast and central sectors) . 

Three diflferent stoping methods, cut and fill, shrink- 
age, and sublevel, are used underground at Xerolivado, 
depending upon the geologic characteristics of the 
lense occurrence. If the thickness of the ore body is 
less than 5 m and the dip is less than 35°, a type of 
room-and-pillar method is utilized. As of 1981, only 
one ore body (No. 7) in the central sector was being 
mined by the room-and-pillar method. Most of the 
mining is by shrinkage stoping. In this method ore 
from the stopes is loaded into rail cars through chutes 
while in sublevel stoping, drawpoints serve as loading 
points. Load-haul-dump units load the ore into rail 



" Confidential source. 



' Confidential source. 



cars which are hauled to the incline shaft by loco- 
motives. When the new beneficiation plant is complete, 
probably by 1984, ore from the central sector will be 
delivered to the internal shaft connecting with the adit 
below, and main rail haulage will be in the adit deliver- 
ing to the new mill. 

Operations are conducted on a 250-d/yr, two-shift- 
per-day basis. Recent production capacity has been 
about 50,000 tpy of ore. Announced plans, however, 
indicate that when the new mill is in operation the 
Xerolivado production rate will be increased to about 
140,000 tpy of ore. This evaluation is based on those 
production rates. It should be noted, however, that 
even with the increased capacity at Xerolivado, only 
70 pet of the announced design capacity of the new 
beneficiation plant is accounted for. It is most likely 
that the remaining 30 pet will be provided from min- 
ing of the Anexitika, Koursonmia, Kerasita, and other 
nearby discoveries which have not been evaluated in 
this study owing to the lack of geologic and other 
data. 

It is noted that the increasing use of mechanized 
loading (LHD's) has resulted in increased dilution, 
call sing the mill feed grade to decrease from 20 pet 
Cr^Og to 18 pet from 1978 to 1980 (65). Reference 
back to the geology and resources section will show 
that the demonstrated resource tonnage of 2.2 million 
t at 18 pet CrgO, evaluated in this study is assumed 
to include dilution by material of a lower grade than 
the 15-pct CrjO.T cutoff grade in use in the late 1970's. 
Mine recovery was reported to be planned at 85 pet 
for the years prior to the increased use of wheel- 
loading equipment. This study assumes a somewhat 
higher mining recovery of 95 pet reflecting the assump- 
tion that increased dilution with typical chromite lens 
deposits would usually be the result of increased 
mining recoveries. 

Operating costs for mining at both capacities evalu- 
ated, 200 and 560 tpd of ore, do not vary significantly 
in terms of total cost. The operating cost for the in- 
creased capacity using the new adit is composed of 45 
pet labor costs, 40 pet for materials and supplies, and 
15 pet for equipment operation. Estimated productivity 
for the increased capacity is 5 t per worker-shift and 
is modeled on 75 pet of output coming from shrinkage 
stoping and 25 pet from sublevel stoping. This produc- 
tivity is among the highest of underground chromite 
mines world wide. 

It is estimated that for the operation at 140,000 
tpy, the total capital cost for mine equipment, includ- 
ing replacement of present equipment, would be nearly 
$1.5 million while mine plant investments would run 
about $2 million. Mine development costs are estimated 
to be $3 million for extraction of the 2.2 million t of 
demonstrated resource remaining. Total capital re- 
quirements for the years 1977 through the process of 
expansion are estimated to be approximately $10 
million and include exploration, development, mine 
equipment, and mine plant capital costs. 

At present, ore from the central sector is crushed 
and screened to minus 60-mm at the inclined shaft 
and then trucked about 6 km down a rough, steep haul 
road to the present mill located near Skoumsta. The 
new, larger beneficiation plant is, or will be, con- 



structed very near the new adit portal not far from 
the old mill. 

The proposed new mill is designed to handle any- 
where from 600 to 720 tpd of ore feed (180,000 to 
210,000 tpy) . Run-of-mine ore at minus 400 mm to plus 
100 mm will go through single stage crushing-grinding 
to minus 25 mm for feed to heavy media separation 
and grinding-regrinding. Minus 2.4-mm material from 
these stages will be fed to a classification-tabling- 
jigging section to produce four separate concentrates 
with sizes ranging between 0.3 mm and 2.4 mm. Minus 
0.3-mm material will be sent to high-intensity mag- 
netic separation for production of a fifth concentrate. 
Although it was not evaluated in this study, the com- 
pany plans at some time to install a "flotation" circuit 
or plant to treat the S-pet-CrgO,, "floats" rejects 
from heavy media separation. Operating with Xero- 
livado ore as feed, expected overall mill recovery is 
nearly 82 pet of the contained CrjO,, and concentrate 
grades of 51 to 52 pet CrgO., can be attained. The possi- 
bility of deliberately altering the flowsheet to produce 
a lower grade (44 to 45 pet CrgO,) concentrate has 
been discussed. This is because metallurgical tests 
have indicated that the proposed ferrochromium smel- 
ter to be built at Tsingeli (Almyros) would operate at 
optimum levels using feed of this lower grade. It is 
possible that lower grade ore (12 to 15 pet CrgOg) 
from the Anexitika, Koursoumia, and Kerasitsa de- 
posits would aid in this task. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

Greece has never been a major exporter of chromite. 
The operation at Xerolivado was evaluated assuming 
that all output would be trucked approximately 180 
km from the mill at Skoumsta to Almyros, the pro- 
posed site for Greece's first ferrochromium smelter. 
The smelter is under the ownership of Hellenic Ferro- 
alloys S.A., a 96-pct owned subsidiary of Hellenic 
Industrial Mining and Investment Co. of Athens. The 
discussions and plans for such a smelter have been 
conducted since the mid-1970's and as of 1982 its con- 
struction was underway with the assistance of Outo- 
kumpu Oy of Finland. Updated information is that 
the smelter was commissioned in the late-1982 to 
early-1983 period and the first shipment was made 
in May 1983 (6^, p. 27). The smelter is operating at 
30,000-tpy initial capacity with the possibility of later 
expansion to 45,000 tpy. The final cost of the overall 
project was $65 million, which included infrastruetural 
investments such as road and harbor improvements, as 
well as the expansion of the mine and construction of 
the new concentrator at Skoumsta. The project was 
completed on time; earlier sources had reported that 
construction would take 3 yr, with initial startup 
production scheduled for late 1982 or early 1983 (65, 
p. 85). The process employed at the smelter includes 
pelletizing to 10- to 20-mm size pellets, sintering, pre- 
heating to 1,000° C and smelting in a 20-MVA closed 
arc furnace. 

It is herein estimated that long-run mining, bene- 
ficiation, and transportation costs per ton of chromite 



81 



concentrate from the Xerolivado operation should aver- 
age approximately $57.50, $18, and $35, respectively, 
for delivery to the smelter at Almyros (Tsingeli). The 
transportation distance to Almyros is essentially the 
same as if the chromite were exported through the 
next closest major port of Salonica, ranging from 160 
to 180 km. The delivered cost of chromite for the pro- 
duction of ferrochromium at the new smelter also 
represents an FOB export cost. At a long-run total cost 
of $110.50/t of concentrate, this smelter would be 
utilizing, over its life, a relatively cost competitive 
feed material given the geographical availability of 
high-grade Turkish chromite at a long-run cost of 
approximately $99.50/t FOB Turkish ports and ex- 
cluding the cost of transport to Greece. Transportation 
costs within Greece are high relative to other chromite 
producers, but the government has entered into a 
project to modernize and electrify the railway network 
by 1990 at a cost estimate of $450 million (66). Given 
the potential of the Mount Vourinous area, it is pos- 
sible that the railway network may be expanded to 
connect Kozani with the port of Almyros. However, 
at a distance of 180 km, it may prove less costly to 
continue to truck the chromite concentrates to the 
smelter. 

Utilizing only the demonstrated resource at Xero- 
livado (Skoumsta) the new mill would produce around 
40,000 tpy of concentrates for 14 yr, or a total of 
585,000 t over the life of the demonstrated resource. 
Assuming a 90-pct recovery in the smelting process, 
this chromite tonnage would represent approximately 
a two-thirds smelter capacity utilization rate for the 
new smelter. Therefore, an additional chromite re- 
source of approximately 1 million t at the other, 
smaller deposits would be necessary for the smelter to 
operate over a normal 15-yr life at full capacity from 
domestic chromite supplies. At this time, it is believed 
that sufficient local chromite supply is available from 
the Mount Vourinous area to operate the new Skoum- 
sta mill and Almyros smelter at full design capacity of 
30,000 tpy ferrochrome. 

An analysis was performed to determine the average 
total cost of producing grade- A, high-C ferrochromium 
in Greece at the proposed smelter utilizing feed from 
the Skoumsta mill. The analyses were performed at 



both the breakeven and 15-pct profitability levels. The 
cost estimates range from $0.49/lb Or at the breakeven 
level to $0.67/lb Cr in order to obtain a 15-pct rate of 
return on the invested capital. If the ferrochromium 
is consumed locally, and the project viewed as a de- 
velopmental objective, then the marginally economic 
nature of the project, as reflected in the long-run cost 
estimates at the 15-pct level, pose no deterrent. It 
appears from this long-run analysis as though the 
project is based more upon developmental concerns 
or EEC trading arrangements than international cost 
competitiveness. It is worth noting that Greece repre- 
sents the only member of the EEC (assuming its 
membership is retained) that possesses economically 
recoverable chromite resources. In addition, Hellenic 
Ferroalloys is jointly financing a feasibility study with 
Larco, S.A. (an 80 pet state-owned nickel and steel 
company) to investigate the possible construction of a 
60,000-tpy stainless steel plant next to the ferro- 
chromium smelter (65, p. 85). 



SUMMARY 

A total in situ demonstrated resource of 2.2 mil- 
lion t was cost evaluated. 

This demonstrated resource is estimated to con- 
tain a potential 585,000 t of chromite products. 
Total grade-A, high-C ferrochromium potentially 
available from this resource is estimated at 
241,000 t. 

Chromite production costs (as defined) are esti- 
mated at $57.50/t, $18.00/t, and $35/t for min- 
ing, processing, and transportation, respectively, 
for a total cost FOB the Almyros smelter of 
$110.50/t. 

High-C ferrochromium production costs (as de- 
fined) are estimated at $0.49 /lb contained Cr for 
the breakeven level and $0.67/lb contained Cr at 
the 15-pct profitability level. 
Major implications are that all chromite produc- 
tion will be processed locally into high-C ferro- 
chromium with smelter output being exported, 
most likely to the EEC. 



MADAGASCAR 



GEOLOGY AND 
RESOURCES 

Chromite occurs in three major districts in the 
northern half of Madagascar (fig. 35) : Andriamena, 
Ranomena, and Befandriana. Of the three, the An- 
driamena District deposits are by far the most im- 
portant in terms of resources and production. Table 
43 contains the in situ demonstrated chromite resource 
data for the deposits and deposit groups included in 
each district as of 1980, along with the associated in 
situ weighted average grades and amount of contained 
Cr203. As this table indicates, nearly 96 pet of the 



major chromite resource of Madagascar is located in 
the Andriamena District. In addition, at least 95 pet of 
Madagascar's chromite production has come from this 
area. The 1980 demonstrated resource level estimated 
for the Andriamena District includes 1 million t con- 
tained within the Bemanevika deposit, 4.5 million t 
contained within the Ankazatoalana deposit, and ap- 
proximately 4.5 million t contained within 25 other 
fairly large lenses. 

The Andriamenha District is located about 180 air 
km north of the national capital of Tananarive and 
about 200 air km northwest of the port of Tamatave. 
The total area of the district covers a rectangular 



82 



Diego Suarez 



Nossi Be 




LEGEND 

City 

Port 

Chromite district 

Railroad 

Road (major and importo- 
to chromium industry) 



100 200 300 



Figure 35. — Location of chromite districts, transportation network, and ports 
of exportation In Madagascar. 



areal extent of about 60 km in a north-south direction 
and about 40 km in an east-west direction. Within this 
area, as many as 300 chromite lenses or eluvial de- 
posits of chromite had been located by 1964 (67) . 

The Bemanevika deposit was once the largest known 
depo, ; in this District. The ore was high grade (by 



Table 43. — Estimated In situ chromite resource data for 
selected deposits and districts in Madagascar, as of 1980 

Demonstrated ^SaS Contained 
District and deposit resource', ™ho CrPj^, 
'^' pIlcrA ^°^> 

Andriamentia: 

Bemanevil<a, 

Ankazatoalana, and 

25 ottier lenses 10,000 31 .4 3,140 

Ranomena: 

Ranomena 250 37.0 92 

Befandriana^: 

Befandrlana and 

Zaflndravoay 100 45^0 45 

Total or average 1 0,350 "31.6 3,277 

' Identified tonnage equals demonstrated plus Inferred tonnage; in this case 
there was insufficient information to support an inferrence beyond the 
demonstrated level. 

' Data may not add to totals shown because of averaging and independent 
rounding. 

3 Befandrlana not evaluated for costs because of indicated short life 
(exhaustion by 1983). 

* Country grade is the in situ weighted average over all deposits at the 
demonstrated level. 



Andriamena District standards) at 42 pet Cr^O., with 
a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.6 to 3.3. This was the first deposit 
to be mined on a large scale in the District, beginning 
production in 1964. The Bemanevika operation was 
shut down in 1974 when the pit face collapsed and 
dilution by waste rock had become excessive. At the 
time of shutdown, the deposit was estimated to still 
contain 900,000 t of ore (68). This study has esti- 
mated the remaining demonstrated resource at ap- 
proximately 1 million t. 

The Ankazatoalana deposit, a few kilometers from 
the Bemanevika deposit, was developed in 1974 to 
replace output from the Bemanevika mining operation. 
At the time, it was reported that reserves at Anka- 
zatoalana were 5.5 million t (68). The remaining re- 
source is estimated at approximately 4.5 million t. 
The grade of crude ore at Ankazatoalana has proven 
to be low at 30 to 37 pet Cr^O,; however, the Cr:Fe 
ratio of concentrate products is approximately 2.4 to 
2.7. One problem with Ankazatoalana ore has been the 
rather high phosphorus content, which necessitated 
addition of a dephosphorizing circuit to the mill in 
1977. This reduces the phosphorus content from 125 
ppm in the crude ore to 35 to 75 ppm in the concen- 
trates. Dimensions of the ore zones at Ankazatoalana 
are not known except that plans are for the open pit 
to operate to a depth of 200 m. It has been assumed 
that the original 5.5-million-t reserve that was pub- 
lished refers to ore within this 200-m depth. Such an 



assumption matches the tonnage-to-depth relationship 
found at Bemanevika and implies that dimensions of 
the Ankazatoalana ore bodies are most likely similar to 
Bemanevika's. 

The Ranomena deposit in the district of the same 
name is the largest individual deposit outside of the 
Andriamena district. It is located 47 km by road north- 
west of the port city of Tamatave. Production began 
in 1960, and 40,000 t of product had been exported by 
1964, at which time operations were believed to be 
terminated. According to Besaire (69), the Ranomena 
deposit, as of 1964, consisted of about 10 lenses of 
chromite, each <5 m thick, occurring in a 300- by 
700-m area. The reserves remaining at Ranomena were 
placed by Besaire at 100,000 t of "surface" ore and 
150,000 t of "depth" ore. The "surface" ore grades 
41 pet CrjO,, with a Cr:Fe ratio of 1.5, while the 
"depth" ore grades much lower at 33 pet Cr^O^, with 
a Cr:Fe ratio of 1.3. The surface ore is also more 
attractive in terms of the SiOj content with a grade 
of 2.5 pet, while the ore at depth has a relatively high 
SiOg content of 12 pet. The demonstrated resource 
analyzed for this study is assumed to be these ton- 
nages and grades as reported by Besaire, given the 
assumption of no significant production since 1964. 

The Befandriana District is located about 100 km 
southeast of the port of Majunga, through which its 
production is exported. Production at Befandriana 
began in 1975 and has ranged from 40,000 to 50,000 
tpy of run-of-mine ore. Run-of-mine ore has typically 
been high grade at 46 pet Cr^O, with a Cr:Fe ratio of 
2.6. Information on geology of the chromite deposits 
at the Befandriana operations is scant. All that is 
presently known is that the mining operation consists 
of two open pits, one 20 m deep and the other 30 m 
deep, located about 3 km apart. According to mine 
officials the remaining reserve at the present Befan- 
driana operations was around 100,000 t in 1981, which 
would indicate exhaustion of the reserve by 1983 at 
the present mining capacity. Because of this short life, 
this operation was not subject to complete cost evalua- 
tion in this study. This is not to say that additional 
resources are not present at other deposits in the 
Befandriana District. At present, however, not enough 
is known about the other deposits or their character- 
istics to economically evaluate their potential. 

The total demonstrated resource level, as of 1980, 
for the three major chromite districts of Madagascar 
is thus placed at 10,350,000 t, with a weighted-average 
grade of 31.6 pet, representing a contained resource 
of approximately 3.3 million t of CrjO,. Of this total, 
10.25 million was subjected to a complete cost evalua- 
tion. 



MINING AND 
BENEFICIATION 

All chromite production in Madagascar has come 
from surface mining operations. It is also assumed 
that all of the in situ demonstrated resource tonnage 
estimated by this study will be extracted entirely by 
surface mining methods. 

All chromite mining operations in Madagascar are 



owned and operated by a 100-pct state-owned company, 
Kraomita Malagasy, and have been since nationaliza- 
tion of Pechiney Ugine Kuhlmann's operations in 
1976. It is interesting that the country's output of 
chromite ore and concentrates has fallen nearly 32 pet 
from 1976 through 1980, from 220,000 t in 1976 to 
an estimated 150,000 t in 1980 (70, p. 629) . Proposed 
development plans for this study's evaluation include 
the following assumptions for the chromite mining 
industry of Madagascar: the Befandriana District 
operations in the north will cease operations by 1988 
or 1984 owing to ore reserve exhaustion; the Andria- 
menha District operations will maintain capacity at 
about 260,000 tpy of crude ore to produce 100,000 tpy 
of chromite products ; and the Ranomena deposits will 
be reopened at a capacity to mine 20,000 tpy of crude 
ore to produce 14,000 tpy of concentrate. Thus, under 
this scenario, annual production of chromite products 
from the operations comprising the demonstrated 
resource of 10.25 million t that was estimated for this 
study will not exceed 120,000 t from 1985 through the 
end of the appropriate lives of the operations evalu- 
ated. 

First production of chromite in Madagascar came 
from the Ranomena deposit because of its close 
proximity to Tamatave port and because much of its 
ore was float ore or outcropping and was easily mined. 
About 40,000 t of ore (probably run-of-mine ore) was 
exported during its 3- to 4-yr period of production 
(69) . In 1964, the largest single lens deposit known in 
the Andriamenha Destrict, Bemanevika, began pro- 
duction and a milling plant was constructed. The 
Bemanevika pit ceased operation in 1974 because of 
problems with excessive dilution and because the pit 
face collapsed. A nearby large lens, Ankazatoalana, 
was quickly brought into production to replace the 
Bemanevika output and is still the major producer, 
estimated to account for about 70 pet of Madagascar's 
present total output of chromite ore and concentrates. 
Relatively large-scale surface production, believed to 
have been started in the Befandriana District in 1976, 
is presently estimated to account for the remainder of 
the country's output. 

As evaluated, the Andriamenha surface mine Is 
estimated to operate 300 d/yr, two shifts per day. At 
present the stripping ratio is estimated at '-'7, moving 
866 tpd of ore and 6,000 tpy of waste, or a total of 
6,866 tpy of ore plus waste. Mining operations for the 
proposed reopened Ranomena operation are assumed 
to be similar in characteristics to the Andriamenha 
operation, except that the haul distance to the mill is 
less and crude ore capacity is much smaller. 

Mining productivities with surface mining are esti- 
mated to be 3.7 t of ore per worker-shift, while overall 
productivity (including mill and administrative per- 
sonnel) is estimated to be about 2.8 t of ore per 
worker-shift. Labor costs comprise only 27 pet of the 
mining cost, while materials and supplies costs repre- 
sent only 15 pet. Equipment operation accounts for a 
very high 58 pet of the total mining cost, reflecting 
high fuel costs, fairly lengthy haul distances for ore, 
high waste-ore ratios, and fairly deep pit operations. 

On a replacement basis, mine equipment capital cost 
estimates range from $22/t to $32/t of annual crude 



84 



ore capacity. A rough estimate of exploration and 
development capital costs is in the range of $l/t to 
$2/t of ore reserve. Overall, to bring a surface mining 
operation into production of the description above, 
would require about $100/t of annual capacity in 
capital investments, including infrastructure. 

The KRAOMA mill in the Andriamenha District 
began production in 1964 with the installation of shak- 
ing tables and a crusher. Design capacity has been 
constantly increased until it reached the capacity to 
handle about 450,000 t of crude ore feed in the mid- 
1970's. A dephosphorizing circuit to decrease the phos- 
phorus content in concentrates was added in 1977 at 
a cost of about $1.6 million. 

Due to conflicting data, the actual mass-balance 
through this mill is diflficult to ascertain, especially in 
terms of the percent of total production that is lump 
ore material (plus 4-mm to minus 150-mm) and the 
grade of this lump material. An unpublished source^^ 
indicates that the lump product in the Andriamenha 
District grades a very low 30 to 37 pet CrgO,, 
not much higher than the overall in situ grade, and 
that fully 45 pet of crude ore feed is lump material. 
Assuming that this very low grade product also has 
the higher phosphorus content of 125 ppm, it is ques- 
tionable whether the market for this material is large 
enough to constitute as much as 75 pet of the output 
from the Andriamenha mill as a mass balance based 
on "50 pet recovery of concentrates and 70 pet recovery 
of lump ore" would indicate. In fact, all published 
references to output from Andriamenha District refer 
simply to concentrate output and never mention lump- 
ore production. For marketability reasons, this study 
chose to determine the availability of chromite from 
the Andriamenha District mill as if 100 pet of produc- 
tion was in the form of chromite concentrates at an 
average grade of 49 to 50 pet CrgO,, with an overall 
recovery of 60 pet in the milling process. This assumes 
that the percentage of production that is lump ore is 
a negligible amount. 

In the production of concentrates, the process at the 
KRAOMA mill involves two-stage crushing, screening 
at 40 mm, classification-grinding to minus 5 mm, fol- 
lowed by gravity separation with some hand sorting 
of waste from ore prior to feeding the parallel classif y- 
table circuits. Top size from initial tabling is reground 
in a ball mill and sent to a second stage of tabling. 
Concentrates from both gravity circuits are dried in a 
kiln and then sent to a high-intensity magnetic sepa- 
ration for removal of phosphorus. The final concen- 
trate grades 49 to 50 pet CrjOg, 35 to 75 ppm of phos- 
phorus, and has a Cr:Fe ratio of 2.4 to 2.7, and sizes 
ranging between 30 and 100 mesh. 

For the Ranomena operation, it is proposed that 
both types of ores, high and low grade, be beneficiated 
from respective feed grades of 41 and 33 pet Cr^O., to 
concentrate grades of 48 pet CrjOg in both cases. 
Processes for the two ores differ slightly in that 
the higher grade ore would not need a magnetic 
separation circuit while the low Cr:Fe ratio of the 
lower grade ore is assumed to require a circuit identi- 
cal to the present KRAOMA mill described above. 



'Confidential source. 



As a percentage of total mill operating cost, labor 
accounts for about 45 pet, while equipment operation 
represents 35 pet, and materials and supplies repre- 
sent 20 pet. 

The estimated replacement cost for a mill similar in 
size and process to the KRAOMA mill in the Andria- 
menha District is estimated to be $8/t to $ll/t of 
annual crude ore feed. 



CHROMITE 
AVAILABILITY 

The total availability of chromite products from 
the demonstrated resource level determined for Mada- 
gascar is limited to a potential of approximately 3.9 
million t of high-Cr chromite, with a weighted-average 
grade of 49 pet CrjO,, the great majority of which 
(3.7 million t) is contained within the Andriamenha 
operation. This operation could produce about 100,000 
tpy at full capacity for 37 yr from the demonstrated 
resource level. Ranomena could provide around 13,000 
tpy of chromite products, beginning in 1985 but de- 
clining to about 8,000 tpy, at planned capacity, by 
1990 due to declining ore grade. The life of this opera- 
tion is estimated at 13 years given its demonstrated 
resource level and proposed capacity. 

The long-run mine operating cost of chromite prod- 
ucts in Madagascar, on a weighted-average basis, is 
approximately $31/t; long-run beneficiation cost is 
estimated at $16/t of product, and the transportation 
cost, on the same basis, is estimated at around $19.50/ 
t. This gives a long-run total cost estimate, FOB the 
port of Tamatave, of $66.50/t. Although this estimate 
compares favorably with costs in South Africa and 
Zimbabwe, the tonnages available both annually and 
over the resource life are literally dwarfed by the 
chromium industries of these two nations. 

Currently, concentrates from the Andriamenha 
operation are trucked about 110 km east-southeast to 
the railhead at A'tondrazakao then railed approxi- 
mately 400 km to the port of Tamatave for export. 
Concentrates proposed for production from the 
Ranomena operation would be trucked 45 to 50 km 
southeast to the same port for export. 



HIGH-CARBON 
FERROCHROMIUM AVAILABILITY 

There has never been a ferrochromium smelter con- 
structed in Madagascar. In the mid-1970's a feasibility 
study was conducted for the construction of a high-C 
ferrochromium smelter at Moramanga, a city located 
on the railroad to Tamatave. The capacity of the 
smelter studied was 50,000 tpy and included an ex- 
ploration program to increase reserves in the Andria- 
menha District. The project was found to be un- 
economic, because estimated capital investment, at that 
time, was $100 million. It is believed that there were 
several additional problems with the proposed project, 
including (1) the lack of a cheap fuel source, (2) the 
requirement to site the smelter 200 to 300 km by rail 
inland from the port, and (3) the economic competive- 



85 



ness of the product relative to the competition from 
South African ferrochromium. With a demonstrated 
resource of 10.25 million t and a production capacity 
of 100,000 tpy of concentrates, it would be possible to 
produce about 40,000 to 45,000 tpy of ferrochromium 
for 38 yr (for a total of about 1.6 million t) according 
to the criteria of this analysis — an adequate level of 
reserve to support a smelter. However, on a strict 
operating cost basis, excluding capital cost recoup- 
ment, taxes, etc., the expected cost of ferrochromium 
production, including the additional transport cost to 
Tamatave port, would exceed the cost of an average 
South African operation delivering to the port of 
Durban, South Africa. 

In the past, the chromite products of Madagascar 
have primarily been exported to Japan and the EEC. 
For the purpose of this report, the total annual out- 
put of chromite products from the operations studied 
were transported to Japan for the manufacture of 
grade-A, and grade-C, high-C ferrochromium. The 
average total costs thus determined range at the 
breakeven level from $0.42/lb to $0.47/lb contained 
Cr for the grade-A and grade-C products, respectively. 
This compares with cost of $0.37/lb and $0.38/ lb 
contained Cr for grade-A products from Philippine 
and New Caledonian based chromite resources, also 
delivered and processed to high-C ferrochromium in 
Japan. The cost diiferentid is due almost entirely to 
both greater inland transport distances within Mada- 
gascar and greater ocean shipping distances to Japan. 



SUMMARY 

A total in situ demonstrated resource estimate of 
10.25 million t was cost evaluated. 
This demonstrated resource is estimated to con- 
tain a potential 3.9 million t of chromite products 
with an average grade of 49 pet Cr^Oj. Of this 
tonnage, 95 pet is contained within the Andria- 
menha operation. 

Total high-C ferrochromium potentially available 
from this demonstrated resource is estimated at 
1.535 million t of grade-A ferrochromium and 
65,000 t of grade-C ferrochromium. 
Chromite production costs (as defined) are esti- 
mated at $31/t for mining, $16/t for processing, 
and $19.50/t for transportation for a total long- 
run cost estimate FOB the port of Tamatave of 
$66.50/t. 

High-C ferrochromium production costs (as de- 
fined) were estimated, for the breakeven level, at 
$0.42/lb and $0.47/lb contained Cr, for grade-A 
and grade-C ferrochromium, respectively. These 
costs are on a Japan-market basis. 
Major implications are that no major change in 
trading patterns is expected and the construction 
of a domestic ferrochromium smelter remains 
doubtful. 



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